The girls started school yesterday and I think the balance of emotions was more positive than negative! They were definitely looking forward to seeing their friends but they were both a little anxious. I think this had a lot to do with “the unknown”. The unknown is always a little uncomfortable, especially when it brings work, projects, tests and marks!!
We have many wonderful memories from the summer, and all of them involve experiences that we shared with family or friends. We did stay pretty close to home to facilitate Cailyn’s rehabilitation but we also thoroughly enjoyed camping experiences at Camp Trillium and four amazing days at a friends’ cottage. Thankfully, after a little setback in her recovery as a result of a tendon injury, Cailyn’s recovery continues. Her foot was hurting her today at the end of her first full school day from all of the walking and stairs. She has agreed with her physiotherapist that she will take at least one of her crutches with her to school tomorrow.
As the school year begins, I know that I have to get my act together and more successfully take advantage of the blocks of time that the girls are at school to move forward professionally. I have learned just how hard it is to live in a professional “compartment” when personal realities are overwhelming and consuming. I am so very thankful that we have a break from our weekly trips to the hospital for Cailyn’s chemo treatment. I wish that the physical break automatically ensured that there was an accompanying mental / emotional break… but anyone on this kind of journey knows that this is not the case. It’s these moments that you appreciate the wisdom of the individual that coined the proverb, “once bitten, twice shy”. If you’ve heard once that your child’s tumour has grown, you are always aware of the possibility!
That being said, I was very impressed with wisdom that my cousin forwarded recently… “if something isn’t going to matter in 5 years, don’t spend more than 5 minutes worrying about it now”. I liked it enough to write “5 X 5” on a bright pink sticky note and put it at eye level on my fridge. It sounds a great deal like the wisdom my Mom has shared hundreds of times with me… “don’t cross the bridge until you get there”.
So… I’m going to do my best to use this wisdom as a tool to focus my attention on things that I CAN do and on differences that I CAN make… stay tuned!!