I'm Back!

Okay, it has been a LONG time since I have blogged...in fact it's been 8 months! Many transition's (as my new counselor calls them) have taken place since then I am not sure where to start. I feel great now but for awhile I felt as if I had inhaled and couldn't exhale. Of course that is a bit exaggerated but it paints the picture of how I felt at the time.
You know how sometimes it seems that life cruises along and everything feels fantastic...the sky is clear, birds are singing, everyone's healthy, kids are doing well, etc. THEN....boom it starts to crumble a little bit every week and that waiting for "the other shoe to drop" starts happening!
November 2008 when my mom and dad were here visiting from CA, I asked dad about a suspcious sore on his cheek. He told me that it was a rare form of Sarcoma and he was having it removed when he returned home. WHAT?? My strong wonderful healthy daddy CANNOT have cancer!! My dear mother was about to have a double mastectomy to remove her second occurence of breast cancer and now my dad?! So, while I was home in CA taking care of my mom, my dad was getting radiation everday. My poor beloved parents. TOO MUCH!
When I returned from CA my dermo told me that what I thought was a harmless flesh colored mole was actually Squamous skin cancer and I need to have it removed. She performed Moh's surgery on my left cheek and my face changed forever after receiving a 3" incision! No MORE!
The economy has hit alot of us and it hit my husband and I for sure. He came to me and told me that we need to sell our house and "downsize". So, we did but YIKES....that is STRESSFUL! Two weeks before we moved our loving family dog was so sick that we had to put her to sleep. I CAN'T HANDLE MUCH MORE!
What made me finally inhale and not feel like I could exhale? Our oldest daughter was about to leave for her Junior year in college. She and I were the only ones home, her car was packed and she looked at me with her big beautiful eyes, gave me a hug and a kiss and walked out the door:( It was different this time saying goodbye. It felt as though my little girl was leaving and that future visits home would be as a woman. Now I know that is "normal" and "good". We work their whole lives as mother's to raise them up "in the way they should go"...but yikes it was SO HARD this time!
I immediately picked up the phone and made an appointment with a counselor. I NEED HELP!
I have never felt depressed in my life and these last 8 months have been difficult. The good news is life is good again! Mom has healed beautifully and stronger than ever. Dad has healed and in remission. My face is definitely scarred but it's okay and I can handle it. My dermo told me, "Robin, it now becomes part of your character". THANKS ALOT!
I miss our dog Casey dearly and often but life is easier withour a dog. It was sad to leave our lovely neighborhood that we raised our teenage daughter's in but our new townhome is great! I FEEL BETTER!
So, as Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church) says, "True greatness isn't determined fame, wealth or talent, but by what it takes to discourage you." HANG IN THERE "this too shall pass".