At Long Last

Greetings, Better Lifers! At long last, I post. My sincere apologies for my extended absence.

Today, I write.

I write because I’ve missed you all.

I write to overcome the increasingly difficult hurdle of writing after an absence and not knowing where to begin.

I write to reconnect with this blog that I enjoy so much.

So, What’s Up?

Rather than bore you with a laundry list of what has been taking my attention away from you all lately, I’ll share a few highlights. More than that, however, today’s blog post is about putting words into action. Choosing the Better Life, even when Life gets challenging . . .

So, the highlights (and, err, lowlights) of late:

• Organizing and kicking off our summer children’s program.
• A few weekend getaways, including a delightful holiday weekend with friends on their sailboat.
• Funerals and Weddings – celebrations of life and love.
• Another round of flu (unusual here!), which prompted some doctor visits in Florida – all is well.
• Another round of doctor visits for some other minor medical issues which are resolvable, but need to be addressed.
• Cancer in the family.

Umm, yeah, that. Nasty word.

The “C” Word

My mother was very recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, it is in the very early stages and her prognosis is excellent. She already had surgery, and pathology results seem to indicate that it was localized and now eradicated. We don’t think she’ll need any chemo or radiation – more to be thankful for.  She’s doing great. Phew.

Better Life Principles

So, that’s the biggie. I’ve spent quite a bit of time back and forth to Florida to be with Mom and my family. Keeping family and Beau as my top priorities, I’ve let other things go – even this beloved blog.  What a good choice for me!  Although it’s been difficult to know there are tons of things on my “to do” list which languish, I take comfort in knowing my attention and energies are in the right place.  Beau has been wonderfully supportive, my brother has been a rock star caregiver, my mother shines her positive light even on this experience, and we’ve actually enjoyed quite a bit of nice family time together.

With my mother leading the charge, we have kept our focus on appreciation and thanks for so much: catching it early, an outstanding medical team, excellent results, supportive loving family, compassion for families who struggle with serious and long-lasting illness, seeing Grace in so many daily events, finding pleasure and joy in the little details of every day, loving and appreciating one another. And my brother, with his delightful sense of humor, has led us in much laughter through it all.

Life Is Good.

So, yup, my Better Life even includes cancer – or at least dealing with it. (Cancer, be gone!)

Now, I am briefly home on the island before another round of travel. And I appreciate my island life even more, if that’s possible . . . The smell of clean laundry flapping in the sea breeze, the warmth in my heart from greeting neighbors and friends upon my returns, the nightly comfort of curling against my solid Beau as the dog snores nearby, the bliss of sun sparkling on a turquoise sea, the joy of children splashing and laughing, the peace of a starlit sky, and so much more.

A beautiful summer day on the water.

Sandbar in the middle of nowhere (where “nowhere” means “paradise”).

Can you see why I love our kids’ camp so much?!

Thank you for your patience. I suspect I will still be a bit infrequent with the blog posts until things settle down, but please know I am thinking of you all and wishing you a Better Life each and every day!

I would love to know how each of you are doing and what you’re enjoying this summer! Do tell . . .