Week 1 - February 7

Today is the bitterest and sweetest of birthdays. A few days ago, I received the call I had dreaded: I have breast cancer. Shortly before my 37th birthday.Being a conseguir of all things work, my mind immediately went to worrying over how this will impact my love for the outdoors, my love for woodworking, my love for being independent. My independence seems to be put on hold. However, I'm also very thankful:I'm thankful my breast cancer hurt, which allowed me to find the lumps. I'm thankful I decided to go to the doctor. I'm thankful that when my initial results came back "probably benign," earlier this fall that my doctor pushed me to a breast surgical oncologist. I'm thankful for the radiologist that took my mammogram and ultrasound thoroughly to get this caught. I'm thankful for the years of research that separate me and the breast cancer diagnoses of the past. I know I will recover from this thanks to the years of hard work paved by others.The words of Maya Angelou sit with me:"Now you understandJust why my head’s not bowed.  I don’t shout or jump aboutOr have to talk real loud.  When you see me passing,It ought to make you proud.I say,It’s in the click of my heels,  The bend of my hair,  the palm of my hand,  The need for my care.  ’Cause I’m a womanPhenomenally.Phenomenal woman,That’s me."This week will be a week of more tests. It will be the setting of many dates. It will challenge my indepence while it will also set forth a path to freedom, to recovery. I found this picture from exactly 27 years ago of me doing what I love, running, at the Race for the Cure. Little did I know then that 10-year old me was paving the way for the future me. I can't wait to be on the other side of this, running for future women.  Beating this thing. I'm writing this so that, a year from now when this pops up, I can be proud of what I have overcome.