I got such a lovely surprise when I got to work! On my desk, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my friend ,Vincent. He was one of the first students I taught when I came to UEC and we’ve stayed in touch over the past few years. He’s now studying at Macquarie University which is pretty cool. I’ve also taught his brother and his cousin’s in my current class – so it’s a family affair! We haven’t seen each other for ages but been in touch via face book… such a lovely gesture, it really made my day.
In other good but totally random news, my Marks and Spencer order arrived! In a massive box! To David’s work! The box was almost as tall as me as it contained rolls of wrapping paper. I think this kept David’s office entertained (with questions such as “do they not sell wrapping paper in Australia?”) and gave his biceps a workout when he carried it home. See, that’s what you call retail therapy! Everyone’s a winner, baby!
Today is my second session with my counsellor. The flowers are far too beautiful to leave at work, so I have no choice to take them along to counselling! When my counsellor asks me why I got the flowers, I simply reply “because I’ve got cancer.” She doesn’t say anything and we settle down for a good chinwag. Later though, she asks me if that’s really why I got the flowers. I tell her I’ve got a whole house full of flowers for the same reason. But then she gets me thinking. Did I really get the flowers because I’ve got cancer? When I think about it, I guess, my friends and family didn’t give me flowers because I’ve got cancer at all. First and foremost, they gave me the flowers because they love me and care about me and they want me to know that I have their love and support. They know that the flowers make me feel warm and fuzzy and that when I look at them I smile. The fact that I have cancer is I guess neither here nor there. It’s a real light bulb moment! Ping! Cancer doesn’t define me. It’s not who I am. I’m still ME! Just me with cancer! When I was first diagnosed, I felt like I had a big “C” flashing above my head and it was all about the Cancer. Now I realise I’m all about ME and the Cancer like so many other things is one of the parts that make me, me!
My counsellor explains that Cancer is a life changing experience for many people. Let’s face it having Cancer sucks. If I was at a crossroads, this is not a path I would choose to take. But I’m well on the road now, and I have to keep on travelling. I’m determined to take this experience and use it to my advantage at every opportunity. I know there’s going to be some bumps on the road along the way but I’ll be damned if I’m going to lay down and give up like a beetle on my back with my legs in the air! No way! I’m going to suck it up, live it large and use this as an opportunity to live my life bigger and better than ever before. This cancer is going to change my life. For the better!
