I don’t even remember the last time that I wrote a blog post. I have been so busy living and enjoying life that I haven’t taken a moment to reflect and write about what I have been up to. A lot has happened in fact!

Since my last post my treatment has ended and I am no longer on endless medications and being poked and prodded every three weeks!! In even better news, I had another bone marrow biopsy this summer which confirmed that I am still in remission!! This has been so wonderful and allowed me to feel in control of my life once again. I still go in for periodic blood-work and follow-up visits, but as time passes these visits will get further apart. It has been so nice feeling like I can finally start taking steps forward in life.

What else has been new? I have discovered that I really enjoy doing yard work. Yes it is tedious and there are days I don’t want to do it, but it gives me such a sense of satisfaction to see my hard work pay off. Having a yard has been an absolute game changer. Zoey loves it and we can have play dates and doggie-pool parties in the summer and now that it is winter, she cant get enough of being outside in the snow. Mowing the lawn and weeding and the various yard work has also been a great workout for me. I still lack a lot of strength but I have definitely noticed my body getting stronger since moving here. I could not be happier with my decision to move into this little house and make it a home.

Moving into the house also brought a new family member into my life. After getting to know my new neighbors a bit I discovered they foster kittens. I went to meet the kittens and fell in love! Roughly two weeks later I had a new addition in the house, a 3 month old long haired tabby name Pixie! He is the sweetest littlest love bug and has melted my heart. Of course he snuck into my heart while disguising himself as a girl, but I love him and so my fabulous Pixie is here to stay. While Penny doesn’t particularly care for him, Zoey loves him and the two play all the time. The house is filled with chaos and fur and love. I can only imagine how much Luke would have loved this little life I am building.

I have also taken two trips in the last couple of months. In August I made the trip to Cape Breton to spend time with my in-laws and I can not even begin to put into words how healing that trip was. I spent so much time smiling and laughing and feeling pure happiness. Spending time by and in the water felt more healing than any medicine ever could be. I got to spend time with some of my absolute favorite people and see so many of the wonderful humans I have come to call my second family. I could feel Luke all around me while I was there: in the water, the air, in the smiles and hugs of his family. Everywhere I looked and went I knew he was with us all and smiling his big silly grin. I could have stayed there forever.

Then just last month I finally got to go home to visit my family for the first time in three and a half years. Seven days was not nearly enough. It felt like I had never left. I couldn’t believe how much my nieces and nephews have grown. I still imagine them as the little babies they used to be and not the not-so-little people they have become. I wish I had more time to spend with each of them so I could really get to know who they are growing up to be. While home I also was able to have a sister night and went out to dinner with my two sisters. It was so nice to get to spend some time with them and catch up on everything going on in our lives. My best friend Bethany even made the drive down from Maine for an impromptu visit one evening and it was as if nothing had ever changed. In addition to my immediate family we even had a big family Christmas party with all my aunts and uncles and cousins! It has been years since we were all able to get together and it was so incredibly wonderful to see them all again along with all the new additions to the family! So many new little ones running around filling the house with light and laughter. I love my family so much. Getting to be with my parents and enjoy the most mundane things like watching TV or cooking was so needed. I don’t care what we do as long as we are together.

I feel like I’m in such a good place in my life right now. No things are not what I expected them to be when I made the decision to move to Winnipeg, but all things considered I am starting to really love this little life I’m building. Nothing in life is certain and so I just try to do what makes me happy. I think that brings you all up to speed so I’ll end this update here.

Love, LB