Blog Humbug

No. I'm just kidding. I love blogging. And it's not intentional to turn this into a weekly blog at all. Speaking of weeks. This has been a very fun one. Dee was here with me and I dragged her to every possible thing I've been wanting to do or can do. Even if it meant seven things in one day. She's a great playmate AND a family member. How great is that? We'd walk across town. Down town. To the MOMA to see "The Scream". To the Zeigfeld to see Life of Pie. To the MET to see Matisse. Downtown to see Thr Fitzgeralds and then eat at my favorite veggie place, Angelica's Kitchen. And more.

I've been kind of on fire. Being well has turned into Do It Now for me. As long as I've got engery,  I'm doing it! It's a welcome attitude for me . I've often be the one to think, "oh, we'll do it later." Or, "I'm sure we'll be back this way another day".  I can't do dat no more. It's like an old dress that doesn't fit. Not sure if its too big or too small but I just know it doesn't fit,

My dear friend Allison's father passed away here in NY on 12/12/12. He fought pancreatic cancer with all his might and did quite well. But Wednesday was his last day, here with us, in his body. He was a renowned pediatric oncologist. He saved lots of children. And made available the first pediatric bone marrow transplant in this area. He did a lot of good in this world, and I heard today, that while the family was in tge hospital room staying quiet to create a peaceful environment, and his breathing was shallow and his blood pressure low, he all of a sudden said, " donate my clothes!" He was still thinking of ways he could help.

 He was given such a lovely funeral service today. He would have loved it. At the gravesite I cried the most when the dirt was being shoveled. Ashes to ashes. Returning to the earth. To what we're made of. He has four children, but I was saddest when he wife, his brother and his youngest grandchild added the dirt in to cover the coffin. His second wife Judy cared for him like a saint, and now she had to heal. His brother Simon escaped the Nazis with him. His youngest grandson Eli won't know him like the others do.

The rabbi said two things that come to mind now. One was, "love is stronger than death". And the other was, "it is what it is".  I believe both those things. They resonated so deeply with me today. These were the thoughts that got me through my transplant.  The prayers from people all over. The love. I clearly felt it bolstering me. Without doubt. And I also had to take each challenge one at a time. It is what it is.

People are amazed at how well I'm doing and how well I seem. So much so that I guess I'm amazed too. The doctor is so happy. My friends are so happy. My family is so happy. And me too. I'm a lucky lady. Those were amazing donor cells. And even though as I was thanking my doctor yet again for the many-eth time yesterday, and he said, ".honey, 95% of this is voodoo", I know it's more than that. It's can-do and wanna-do and how do you do, and a bald hair-do. And now all I want to do is do do do.