bex77

My life is a bad country song these days. My dad is in hospice, I have breast cancer and to top it all off - my cat died on Sunday. But it is really easy for me to see that there is still a lot of good in world.

A very special thing happened to me today. My friend Gilly, an amazing graphic artist and actress at the theater, asked me out to lunch. She said she needed me to come by her house, because her Christmas gift to me was "not something I can easily bring on the T." Hmmm... that sounded mighty fishy to me. I had an inkling that there was a surprise in the works. I asked Neil, but he didn't know anything. Last time I got this tickle at the back of my neck, I showed up at someone's house for a "quiet birthday dinner" and there were 60 people with presents and a catered buffet!

I went to Gilly's house at 12 noon, and she asked if I wanted to come in now or later. Hmmm... no surprise party then. I said it was up to her. She said let's go to lunch first. So we motored off to Porter Square for a lovely Japanese lunch at Bluefin, had a great talk, solved the problems of the world etc.

I took her home and she said I'd better come in, as she'd need help carrying. So I went in, and on the dining room table were two big boxes, filled with huge manila envelopes. She explained that it was a "chemo calendar" with 37 weekly envelopes! She had spent the last six weeks plotting and asking people to send her something for me that would fit in a big envelope. There was one for each week of my chemo treatments, and more, so that I'd have a little something to cheer me up each week, and I'd know that someone was thinking of me. She gave me a list of all the names, and told me how my sister Elizabeth and another theater person, Chris, had been collecting and delivering envelopes to her, and one our friends even sent a package from China! She said there would probably be more, as certain people wanted to give her stuff but the timing had not worked yet.

I was overcome. I could not speak. I was shaking with the impact of all that work, and all those good thoughts from amazing people! I am used to doing for others, not having people do things for me. I hardly know how to handle it. I gave her a huge hug and thanked her. Thank goodness I paid for lunch! I will be forever in her debt for thinking up and executing such an incredible gift! It will help see me through the bad weeks to come with love and laughs and support. Woot!

Thank you is a meager expression for all the incredible gratitude I am feeling. I am verklempt! This is so stunning! I will thank everyone now, and then be in touch with each person again as the weeks pass. It will be wonderful to connect with people and thank them and hear their news, to know that "normal life" is going along while I am side-tracked.

I have THE BEST FRIENDS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD OMG!