Co-owning a family business is a remarkable adventure. My life intertwined with my family on a daily basis. It works for me. It is one of most enjoyable aspects of my career.
This week my daughter is out of school two days for parent/teacher conferences. We talked about her options for these two days, because Mom taking off two days was not an option. She picked work one day and Nana’s house for the second day.
I loved having her with me. She begged to do “real work” with our team. And, our team was very kind to include her in their tasks.
It is difficult to describe how I feel when I watch her working at the store. The word pride seems limited. Joy, love, happiness, lucky, blessed…and so very much more.
It is cold in Kansas City. It is hump day. My daughter starts another four day weekend tomorrow because of conferences. I have walked to the fridge 10+ times….
It is cold in Kansas City. It is hump day. My daughter starts another four day weekend tomorrow because of conferences. I have walked to the fridge 10+ times thinking I will be inspired. Truth be told, this is what I am craving.
You can find Ed’s Lobster Bar in New York City here. Sadly, there isn’t a subway from midtown Kansas City that will take me there. But I will be there again in May.
This Friday I will have a surgical procedure to remove cells that, left alone, could turn into cancer. These pesky cells were discovered during a routine yearly exam…
This Friday I will have a surgical procedure to remove cells that, left alone, could turn into cancer. These pesky cells were discovered during a routine yearly exam with my gynecologist, after which she called to let me know that my test results showed an abnormality and she wanted to take a closer look. During this second visit, after a look-see, she calmly said, “I am going to take a couple of quick biopsies.”
What happened next is a bit fuzzy, because when I heard “biopsy” my heart stopped beating and my head started to spin. My family doesn’t have great history with biopsy results. And, in my experience, biopsy spells CANCER.
I don’t have cancer. I may never develop cancer. And I am more than willing to have these cells cut from my body later this week.
I think I may even survive the heart stopping attacks I have suffered during this process. First, biopsies. Then, waiting for results. Then, being told I have high grade cancer-causing cells. Then, the call to let me know the amount I will owe the hospital Friday after my very expensive health insurance is done accounting for the 80/20-out-of-pocket-co-pay-deductible-not-covered-under-your-plan-matrix-of-go-screw-yourself-lady-coverage.
But talking about CANCER in relation to my body has changed me forever. I will learn to live with the reality that my body carries a virus that causes cancer sometimes. I will learn to forget about it for long periods of time. I will learn to not live in fear of cancer. I will re-read all the anti-cancer lifestyle books I have read because of my mother’s breast cancer and my father’s lymphoma. I will make more lifestyle changes. I will feel blessed that I had the resources to have preventative care. I will get more sleep. I will continue my journey to control my anxiety and my stress. I will eat my fruits and veggies. I will walk thousands of miles for my health. I will show up for all my exams and tests in the years to come. And soon I believe I will feel lucky that I don’t have cancer.
But I will never again walk into my doctor’s office with the same confidence I did before this happened.
This week, my father is travelling to MD Anderson in Houston for a battery of tests to find out if his 18+ months of chemotherapy is working to put his lymphoma into remission; my mother is at home without an ounce of breast tissue left on her body; and I am joining some of my friends that have been in my same situation.
I am writing this blog to continue the public conversation about cancer, and to help remind myself that we are finding treatments and strategies for prevention and that every day we are closer to a cure. To encourage everyone to get yearly exams, and to educate yourself on your own health.
And I am writing this blog to bolster my own strength in the fight against cancer. I know I should feel like one of the lucky ones, but I don’t yet. I believe I will soon.
This week my daughter’s class is practicing “random acts of kindness”. This is one of her acts of kindness today. And it is exactly what I needed. I get a big smile out of her using “Mumsie”.
These are the flowers my father and stepmother sent me on their way to Houston for my Dad’s lymphoma testing. I am deeply touched by their thoughtfulness.
Shortly after Christmas my daughter and I went camping in coastal California. It was peaceful. It was also nice to be outside (although a bit colder than we had wanted) all day, every day. We spent most of one day on this beach.
It was the perfect way to spend a day.
A couple of days ago I posted this blog. When I came across this image today, I thought it was a great addition to the stacking stones images.
This past November, I found myself unexpectedly and briefly on the beach…
This past November, I found myself unexpectedly and briefly on the beach in Montauk, New York, for a couple hours. My friend and I came across some stacked stones. I think stacked stones are magical. And I have played with stacking myself.
These unexpected temporary sculptures are the combination of an artist’s desire to create something beautiful and some gifts of nature. Which makes them magical to me.
I took these photos with my phone with the Instagram app. I dig Instagram and would love to see your photos, too. So…find me…caseysimmonsloveswaves and let’s become Instagram buddies.
New York City is different than any of the other places I travel. It has a hum…
I have been back from New York for close to 10 days. The trip was filled with inspiration. New York City is different than any of the other places I travel. It has a hum that keeps you energized for long days and short nights. I am enthralled with the diversity and cultural mix. I love my home town of Kansas City. I think it is a remarkable city, but sadly we still don’t offer the blend of cultures that you find in some other great American cities. Most notably, The Big Apple.
This is another batch of images I took with Instagram. I was reviewing the other blogs and I like the collection so far. But, I do feel now that I could have – and should have – taken more photos.
I would enjoy hearing which images you liked, didn’t like or found interesting.
PS. If you want to know where or what any image is, just drop me a comment.
Some other New York images blogs by Casey Simmons.
Tonight we headed down to SoHo for dinner and a long post-dinner stroll. I adore New York City at night…
Tonight we headed down to SoHo for dinner and a long post-dinner stroll. I adore New York City at night. You could roam the streets for hours and hours on end. The August weather this year is mild and soft. There was almost a chill in the air as we walked. I did not want the night to end. These images were taken during our wandering.
This is a series of Instagram images I took on August 19, 2012, in New York City. They were all taken within four blocks of our hotel.
This is a series of Instagram images I took on August 19, 2012, in New York City. They were all taken within four blocks of our hotel.
We discovered a new hotel in New York City. It opened in February of 2012. We took a chance and booked our stay with them. It was a great choice. We really like our digs and are planning to return. You can find this fab little hotel here.
