"I thought I was done with cancer. But now they're saying I need lymphedema treatment," I told her, irritated at this interruption in my life. I'd traveled to Edisto Island, South Carolina for my second solo journey the day after I'd been assessed at the Lymphedema Clinic. When they told me I'd need intensive treatment, … Continue reading Don’t You Deserve to be Cared For?
#stepforwardfromcancer
Journeys to the Past
At this time of year, I feel a yearning to return to childhood. I long to smell the cedar tree decorated with a string of large multi-colored lights and icicles; to taste the cherries in my aunt's paper-thin cookies; to feel the rush of being in the basement of Rose's Dime Store looking at my hoped-for … Continue reading Journeys to the Past
You Need to Overseed!
The day Darlene shaved my head when it was inevitable that my hair would fall out, fifteen days after my first chemo, I returned home wondering how my family would handle it. When my tenth-grade son, Brooks saw me, he said, “Mom, you look like G.I. Jane!” and chuckled. Months after I finished my treatment … Continue reading You Need to Overseed!
Enlarge My Territory
The day after I was fired from The Research Company, I packed my suitcase for our family vacation at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. I was in a state of shock, thinking that for the first time in my adult life, I had no job to return to. My husband, David came in and handed me … Continue reading Enlarge My Territory
Hostel Mama at Martha’s Vineyard
The first time I stayed in a hostel it was not because my family encouraged me. My older son couldn’t believe it, questioning my rationale with, “Mom, you’re gonna stay in a hostel with axe murderers?” and then my younger son said, “Aren’t you too old to stay there? I thought they were for college … Continue reading Hostel Mama at Martha’s Vineyard
The Things People Say
I can remember the scene like it was yesterday. The three of us sharing the office at The Research Company. Tara had seen a former co-worker who’d just started cancer treatment. She said to Beth, the other woman in our office, “I can’t believe she’s worried about her weight. She’s just lucky to be alive.” … Continue reading The Things People Say
On Pilgrimage with Harold Fry
One morning when I walked in my neighborhood, I made a serendipitous discovery; a Little Free Library had just been installed. Inside the birdhouse for books, I spotted a title that caught my eye—The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Months later when our Edinburgh-bound train passed Berwick-upon-Tweed, I remembered how it had been the right … Continue reading On Pilgrimage with Harold Fry
Childhood Dreams
The dream of riding a horse in the wide-open West had been with me since I was a girl. Those Saturday morning shows like Roy Rogers spurred my interest, making me want to feel that freedom from a saddle. When my Aunt Polly told me stories of visiting the Tetons, my dream broadened to riding horseback … Continue reading Childhood Dreams
Sinners and Saints
Pilgrims have traveled to Iona, Scotland for centuries to the Abbey founded by Saint Columba. But before he was seen as a saint, he was recognized as a sinner for leading his Irish clan in a battle where three thousand died. He is every man and every woman; all of us with our shadow side … Continue reading Sinners and Saints
Flow of Life
It’s been sixteen years since I was told that day would be my last at The Research Company. Devastated, angry, and relieved to be free of them, I stepped forward onto an uncertain path. I was surprised my course returned me to school nursing. When I retired from that position last March, I had no … Continue reading Flow of Life
Connie Rosser Riddle 