Having survived now for 13 years with Mulitple Myeloma, I know how lucky I am.  I am grateful every day for my life with my wonderful husband and children.  My son was almost 11 when I was diagnosed and my daughter almost 20. So the many years I’ve had are remarkable. Graduations from High School and college.

Some people using the bullet journal method write down what they are grateful for each day. Some do it a little OCed.  I don’t need to write it down to be reminded that the sun comes up or it’s raining and I’m fortunate enough to see it and experience.

Especially since I am enjoying this remission period. My next labs are coming up in the first part of April. Who knows what they will bring but I can only hope they are still good. Although, I don’t “hope hope” like in praying or anything.  Because your blood will be what it is no matter what you hope for. It is what it is.  That was a hard lesson for me when I was first diagnosed.  It took many years to realize basically nothing I ‘hoped’ for essentially made a difference but still one needs to hope. I think it’s a human element.

My neighbor that I’ve mentioned before in my ‘Death decluttering’ blog, is with hospice now. She only has a small amount of time left. I talked with her the other day. One thing that struck me was she said,” this wasn’t how she envisioned her retirement”. She’s only 2 years older than me and was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer 5 years ago.  She made it longer than a lot of cancer patients.

I’m one of the lucky ones and believe me, I am extraordinarily grateful. Not in any religious sense, just grateful to have lived to see another day.

BE GRATEFUL