At Cancer Survivor’s Park in San Diego, June 28, 2013, 2 years since chemo treatment ended.
Today is Taylor’s 22nd birthday. Katie arrived before 7:00 A.M. to wish him Happy Birthday and found the family all sleeping downstairs. Joe and I arrived home from Coronado Beach on Monday to a very hot house. Taylor commented “Oh, I think the air conditioner is broken” but didn’t think it important to inform us before that. The temperature in Salt Lake reached 105 degrees that day and the bright spot was that the basement was at least a little bit cooler than the upstairs. With hot flashes combined with the soaring temperatures in our house, I really could not wear very many clothes. And of course, we had a company come to look at the air conditioner and it needs to be replaced.
Last week, Joe and I happily headed to Coronado Beach where they were also experiencing a hot wave and found the place quite to our liking. We had a beautiful room overlooking the pools and San Diego Bay. At 10:00 P.M. fireworks went off to our delight, which we could view from our balcony. We were looking on a map that showed different places to sight see and it showed a Cancer Survivor Park on the San Diego side. We searched for it on Friday and it was especially meaningful because it was exactly two years after I finished my last chemo treatment. I still think back on the experience and marvel at what happened to me that year. But, we found the park and it was lovely, full of encouraging words written on plaques and a beautiful sculpture showing people passing through an open tunnel and then coming out again. A happy family with a child swinging between the parents was the end result. I loved the park and the feeling there. There was not another soul around, we were completely alone but about five times I caught myself turning to see who was there. It was a weird sensation- at first I couldn’t figure out why I kept thinking there was someone there and then it dawned on me that we were on sacred ground, that all the lives that have been lost to cancer, they all want us to fight this disease and live because they could not. And I know that my sister was there fighting for me, giving me hope that I can beat this thing that in 4 1/2 more years, I will be able to know that this thing is not coming back!
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