As I reflect on the year that was 2009, the notion of ‘years’ strikes me as odd. While a year is little more than a collection of 365 consecutive days (or 366 in every fourth year), it’s interesting that while January 1st, 2009 and December 31st, 2009 are almost an entire year removed from one another, those days will be remembered by history as occurring in the same year, while today and tomorrow - which meet at midnight - are a year apart according to our numbering system. Odd. Anyway, while I too fall prey to the mystique of a ‘year’, 2009 will forever be notable. Like 1979, the year of my birth…1983, when God gave me a second sister…1985, when He gave me a third…1986, when the Red Sox crushed a seven-year-old’s dreams…1997, when I graduated from high school…2001, when I somehow made it through college…2003, when my alma mater was crowned as NCAA Champion…2004, when Boston made it up to the seven-year-old still inside of me…and 2008, when I married my dream girl, one thing will always come to mind first and foremost at the mention of 2009. In the year of Two Thousand and Nine I pummeled cancer. I beat it into submission, and mopped the floor with its remains. With cancer slain, I’m moving onto to 2010. Be safe tonight, and Happy New Year. May 2010 be a blessed one for us all.
GBM
Those were the words of Dr. Henry Friedman today just moments after learning of my MRI results…clean and clear, as usual. Our visit was a short one today, but with the news that I received, this trip was as perfect as any other. I had the pleasure of meeting a few new people today, chatted with some old favorites, and generally talked much more about the Wizards than anything else. It’s a true blessing to be able to discuss the NBA so happily on a day that always has the potential to be so somber. Happy New Year!
Eating Celebratory Ice Cream With Denise
GBM
There is a prevailing thought in sports when a heavy favorite falls to a considerable underdog that the the favored team ‘looked past’ the opposition. The thought is that the better team must not have not treated their foe with the appropriate amount of respect, and didn’t approach the game with the proper attitude, or else the unlikely outcome never would have occured. Well, as the overwhelming favorite going into my MRI at 9:00 am on Wednesday morning, I’d like to report that I have my ‘game face’ on. GBM is one foe that I’ll never take lightly. Far be it for me to ever hear that I ‘looked past’ my opposition in this battle. I loathe the use of ‘war’ analogies in sports, but life is not a game. Tomorrow I’ll continue to wage my war.
GBM
We’ve arrived safe and sound back in Virginia after a ‘Christmas to remember’ in Buffalo and Massachusetts, and now it’s back to business as usual. That business begins with my every-eight-weeks trip to Duke, as we’ll drive to Durham on Tuesday for my Wednesday morning MRI and clinic visit. It’s time unpack from our Christmas trip and repack for the North Carolina voyage…so please excuse the relative brevity of this post. Very soon, we’ll be on the road again.
GBM
…than if I was at home in bed after getting IVed. As I look back on the last few days - from our trip to Buffalo, to our visits with extended family, an appearance by Brad, Ang and Jasper, and hospitality in Holliston like only my Mom and Dad can do - the whole experience stands in stark contrast to what this weekend could have been like. In late July when I learned that I’d be taken off the protocol that I was on, thus ending my treatment regimen as I once knew it, suddenly every other weekend for the balance of ‘09 opened up. Otherwise, had I been instructed to continue with treatment, and been asked to endure hours of IVs and the accompanying nausea every other Friday, this past Friday (or more likely Wednesday or Thursday since Friday was Christmas Day) would have marked the end of my second trip through the six-month protocol. It’s astonishing to think about how different my life would have been since July had I received different news, and it’s painful to think that the great weekend that I just enjoyed would have been so much different if I was stuck in a nauseated state in my bed in Virginia.
GBM
I had the pleasure tonight of a visit from our longtime friends Brad and Ang, one of whom was very pregnant. Now, my sister Cheryl is pregnant, but Ang is PREGNANT. Despite her physical state though, Ang looked great. We had a delightful time talking about the past and the future, mostly my past and her future with Jasper (their child to be). This visit home has been phenomenal anyway, but the opportunity to see Brad and Ang tonight enhanced the experience so much more. All the best to both of them and their unborn baby Jasper, and thanks again for stopping by. What a treat!
Other
No longer in Buffalo, where we enjoyed a green Christmas, we’ve since arrived in Massachusttes, where I’m told the ground is white with snow. We didn’t land in Boston until after 8:00 pm, so I can’t exactly verify how much snow is on the darkened ground, but after hearing that our plane needed to be ‘fixed’ before we could take off from Buffalo, I’m just thrilled that we made it here, even if we were a bit tardy. In the Sereno tradition of ‘fake’ holidays, we’ll celebrate fake Christmas together over the next two days. Nobody hosts a Christmas Day gathering quite like my Uncle Ralphie, so we’ll have our ‘fake’ Christmas Day meal (the second for Jessie and I) at his house on the 26th. Then we’ll conduct our Christmas morning routine in another ‘fake’ fashion, this time on the night of the 27th. Still, with each ‘fake’ holiday that passes I’m reminded that it’s being with family that makes holidays special, not the specific day of the year on which they fall.
Other
At midnight mass tonight I had some time for reflection…where I’ve been since last Christmas and what I’ve gone through. Once again I was reminded of my extraordinary good fortune, but I’m ever mindful of those that are still suffering, be it physically or emotionally. As I head to bed now on this Christmas Eve, to those that are as blessed as I am I wish you a Merry Christmas, to those that are fighting whatever demons are ailing them, Merry Christmas to you too, and to you a ‘good fight’.
Other
Jessie and I traveled to Western New York this afternoon, and we’ll spend the next few days until Christmas night with my in-laws in Grand Island, NY. Our travels were safe and incident free, and the day was enjoyable and relaxed…so relaxed in fact that I got into bed tonight without blogging! What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn’t. I suppose that my nightly routine was disrupted to the point that I forgot about what I typically do before going to sleep, but I was about five minutes away from falling asleep and having the first night pass in this blog’s history with silence. Fourtunately I recovered. This entry will have to suffice though. Now I’m really going to bed.
Other
Well folks, here it is…documented proof that Chrissy has always been my parent’s favorite. Pictured below, from the Christmas of ‘85, is a “natural” shot (as my Mom tells the story.) I should note that Cheryl, Denise and I have no problem with Chrissy being the favorite, as we’re all accustomed to it by now, because it provides ample opportunity for laughter at my Mom’s denials of favoritism. We all love Chrissy just as much as well, however, while Cheryl and Denise at least got to be angels that Christmas, I evidently was dubbed as the little shepherd boy, and told to keep watch over the flock as others came to worship her. Could it be any more clear? My Mom’s claims that we were headed to church for the Christmas pageant could be another explanation for what’s pictured, though it’s much more fun to ignore that defense and to look at this picture otherwise. There we were…rejoicing. Chrissy is upon us!
Other
