Got up this morning feeling a little grumpy which is fairly typical when I have tests of any sort.  Bill said he hoped I had studied as hard for this test as I did for my photography test.  Not funny!
Downed my three glasses of water, no breakfast, no coffee, just plain old water then headed off to the hospital for my 10:15 appointment.  As always we had to wait but there was no shortage of things to watch in the waiting room this morning.  Bill says I'm nosy.  I prefer to say I'm observant!  Honestly, I think it's a teacher thing.  We spend our whole careers trying to stay on top of whatever the kids are up to, tuning into conversations, watching body language etc.  You don't just turn that off after 30 plus years.  Anyways....there's this family in the waiting room.  Some of you are probably old enough to remember the Beverly Hillbillies?  Honestly, this family reminded me of them.  I don't know why....but they looked like they came out of the backwoods.  Mom was in getting a scan and Dad was in the waiting room with three kids, two girls and a boy.  I'd say the boy was maybe 8 the girls 10 and 12.  There was constant bickering and sparring between the two youngest ones.  The boy was a master at pushing his sisters buttons.  He made subtle but mean comments, drew a picture of her (a not very flattering one at that) and quietly told her it was her so that Dad did not hear him.  When the sister tattled....the dad defended the boy, saying what made her think the picture was of her.  It went on and on....Then the Dad started to lose it.  He noticed that one of the girls had pen marks on her arms and told her she was going to get ink poisoning and if she didn't wash it off he was "going to tan her hide!" At this point I was summoned for my scan but Bill said things got even worse after I left.  He was going to take them home and show them the leather belt!  Finally a woman got up, walked across the waiting room and asked him to please stop talking to his kids in that manner.  It was upsetting her!  Things were silent for a minute or two and then he snarled at the kids "Now look what you've done."
Bill said he figured they were going to get it big time when they got home.  Granted he was probably under a great deal of stress with his wife in getting tested, however, you have to feel for those kids and can only imagine what kind of home life they have.

Had the scan and noticed two young people also in for scans.  One, a little girl, maybe twelve or so, the other a young fellow around eighteen.  When I see or hear of kids going through the things I'm going through it gives me such a jolt!  No, it doesn't seem right that I'm facing this but when it's a young person it really makes no sense at all.  Bill has a friend who's eight year old grand daughter has been battling cancer for most of her life.  I goes beyond my imagination what a little person must feel like being put through chemotherapy.

Did my hour of "quiet time" letting the radioactive stuff do it's thing, then had the twenty-five minute picture where you have to lie motionless with your arms above your head. Today the tech was very friendly.  I must confess I am always trying to read the tech's when I go for these tests.  Last time she was very quiet and hardly looked at me and I immediately thought....It's bad and she just can't look at me.  Today she was so chipper I thought...It's bad and she's just trying to make me feel good!  The truth of the matter is she probably doesn't even know what the scan says as it's the radiologist that reads it.  Logic tells me this but my wild imagination seems to take over in times of stress!  Oh well....it's done and it will be what it is.  I won't know the results for a couple of weeks so in the meantime I am going to thoroughly enjoy my time of no chemo and go to Vegas with my daughter and have a great mini holiday!!!

A friend shared this poem with me yesterday....thought I'd leave it with you as I really loved it!

“I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. 

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. 

I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. 

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. 

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. 

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. 

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. 

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. 

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

Maya Angelou