HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HOPE

Hi all - well the holidays are upon us - I have been woefully absent for several weeks - just busy!! I am thrilled that my cancer marker number is now FOUR!!

This means that my immune system sees almost NO reason to respond - the cancer seems to be completely dormant. I won't know finally until the next CAT Scan - Jan. 3! Keep those positive vibes coming!

SO I WISH FOR ALL MY LOYAL READERS A WARM AND LOVING HOLIDAY SEASON!

You have followed my journey for 2010 - your responses and support have meant so much to me.
In the next year, I will be more active with raising support for cancer research, and exploring integrated care which has meant so much to me: combining medical solutions with support for the psyche and soul.

Each new day brings opportunities to appreciate this amazing journey called life. As we celebrate returning to the light (hurray!!) and the calendar change, I look forward for new opportunities to learn and grow, to dance, sing, love. May we work towards peace, social justice and possibility as the world turns... xx

FAMILY REFLECTIONS

Greetings dear readers! Just said goodbye after a marvelous visit from sister Susan. Our few days together reminded me of one year ago - my diagnosis received. It's hard to believe it's been a year - and that I have had 11 months of chemo! The pic on the right was taken last year - the four of us Gabb siblings gathered at Sister Carolyn's apartment for a 'family photo' op. You can see that Gabb grin (brother George taking a moment of reflection himself!)
SisSue's visit was a great chance for special sister time - and I plan to have a similar visit in Richmond with SisCee in April. BroG has come twice - my loyal VA siblings. With an adventure like the big 'C', that special shared knowledge only possible among siblings becomes so very important. You can laugh and cry with siblings in a way with no others. There are those little packages of knowledge about your family dynamic that only siblings grasp.

For the four of us, there are the shared memories of holidays, the all important rituals of cookies, decorating, and above all the Christmas Eve 'program' - complete with hand drawn program guides. We melded the Christian celebration with the family traditions: the Jesus story from the St. James Bible (with it's familiar Shakespearean English) with Clements "The Night Before Christmas" poem that has shaped the view of 'Santa Claus' for all time (St. Nicholas? Who?) The emphasis was on warm and silly family fun - through the rituals we recreated the somewhat fictional Norman Rockwellian tableau of our family dynamic (and the 50's Coca Cola ad view of Santa!). Whatever the fantasy of it all, each of us retains a memory of Christmas festivities that speaks to the best of our childhood years.

As Sue and I visited those memories, we shared new revelations about our family dynamic (Sue mentioned that she rankled a bit with our Sunday night ritual - a family waffle dinner made one at a time on our waffle maker: as the oldest, she always had to get her waffle last! And 'middle child me', I always thought the oldest got the best deal!!) The holidays, friends, for better or for... Take time for meditation during these frantic days!! xx