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Friends forever!

Hello friends, it has been a bit since I've done a post, so here goes. Last weekend, I had a wonderful time with my girlfriends from high school. Bekah was visiting from Shanghai, Anna Laura came up from DC, Katie came over from her new digs in Jersey City, and Elana came down from Crown Heights. It was so lovely to be reunited, and I think that this photo just perfectly sums up the time we had together:


 During the week, Bekah and I would go for walks and hang out until she had to work (on China time, basically night through morning 😱):


I also finally filled my post-chemo urge to get sushi with my mom and Jeremy, who was briefly in town for work:



On Friday, we all had dinner together up at my mom's:


And finally got into yet another cake from Elana:


On Saturday, Nicole came by in the morning, and we caught up after her return from Spain. Then Greg made brunch and the girls and I spent the rest of the day going for a walk and then lounging. That night, we had a perfect night in, during which we ordered Mexican and watched a rom-com.*

On Sunday, we headed out to Jersey City to see Joe and Katie's new digs and then ate some Vietnamese food together. Sunday night we chilled, and on Monday, Anna Laura and Bekah headed home. It was beautiful and restorative to be with friends that I've known for so long. As Anna Laura would say, friends forever!

Over the last week or so, I've also received some beautiful gifts from you wonderful people. Thanks to Nicole for a cute dish towel from her travels in Galicia, Marina for sending Nicole home with an excellent fan from Spain that keeps me cool during my hot flashes, Anna Laura for some mindful gifts, including a meditation coloring book and practical guide to staying in the moment, and a friend from middle school/elementary school, Jennifer Wolters (now Mancine!), for a lovely food care package. Also, thanks to Alan, for sending this cutie to accompany his foxy mug that we keep at our house:


This week, I've had my fair share of doctor's appointments (8 to be exact) to move me along to my next phase of treatment. Because the pathology from my surgery showed that there was still residual cancer in some of the lymph nodes in my armpit, I will be starting 25 sessions of radiation in November (5 days a week), so I need to regain my range of motion before then to be treated. I've started PT at a place near my house in order to be able to get there. I am still quite uncomfortable, but each day is getting easier, and I am finally down to sleeping on one pillow. I also start teaching next week, and am very grateful to past Val for prepping my first two lectures of the course. Some days are harder than others**, but I feel like the light at the end of the treatment tunnel is getting brighter.

*Plus One on Hulu is actually pretty solid, would recommend!
**Like when it rained on the same day I got my first "fill" in my tissue expanders. OUCH!

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