Quote of the Day: “Those who wish to sing always find a song.” Swedish Proverb
My friend, Laurie, gave me a non-fiction book called God Never Blinks by Regina Brett and I started reading it on the plane to New Orleans. The introduction caught my attention with “Then I got cancer at 41. It took a year to fight it, then a year to recover from the fight.” I felt so drawn to this writer. She further says: “My soul sprang a leak and ideas flowed out. My pen simply caught them and set the words on paper.” Now, I have always liked writing because it produces a reasoning of thoughts. I remember the utter joy of handing in my last paper in college and being an English major, believe me I wrote a lot of papers. I knew I was through with a task that took a lot of time and consideration but what I didn’t realize fully was that in being forced to put my thoughts in writing, due to assignment, I was also growing a significant part of my brain. I loved being a mom and raising my children but I missed being stimulated by thoughts and ideas. Fast forward 15 years when I started teaching again- I had to find materials that would cause that thinking process in students, and keeping 40 students entertained for 90 minutes at a time, is no small feat.
So as Brett says: “My soul sprang a leak”. When I first started my blog, my life had changed, I took a leave of absence from teaching and all the sudden my mornings were free and I couldn’t wait to get to the computer to see what would come out. I have never been that great at expressing myself through speaking, but somehow the barriers break down when I sit at the computer and I find it much easier to bare my soul. I even perhaps bore too much at the beginning but I’m glad I did. It helped me understand my childhood better, perhaps some of the events in my life, maybe even helped me to understand people I had blamed for things. I think writing it down and getting it out there also helps in the forgiveness process. How can we forgive someone or even ourselves if we don’t fully comprehend what happened?
Also true, Brett goes on to say that “Cancer made me bold enough to speak up to the bosses. Once you’ve had cancer and been sick, bald and weak from chemotherapy and radiation, there aren’t a lot worse things anyone can do to you.” Side note: this author also carries the BRCA 1 gene so she is most definitely a kindred spirit.
Even today, as the morning got away from me, I can’t concentrate on anything else until my blog is complete. So Brett’s victory in surviving cancer is also a victory for me. One more BRCA 1 gener to be victorious over cancer, and moreover, to take this experience and insure that it made a beneficial difference in her life and the lives of others.
And so here I am in New Orleans, cautiously optimistic, that I will also be victorious over BRCA 1!
Joanie, your blog today hit a chord in my heart when you wrote: My friend, Laurie, gave me a non-fiction book called God Never Blinks by Regina Brett and I started reading it on the plane to New Orleans. The introduction caught my attention with “Then I got cancer at 41. It took a year to fight it, then a year to recover from the fight, I wanted to cry.
This has certainly been the case in our experience and to
hear it in words was salve to the wound! Your journey has been a long one, be sure to give yourself time to recover emotionally. You have been a valiant warrior in the cancer battle!