Half way there!!

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  I got a surprise visit from my best friend for a few days which took me by total surprise.  We spent time catching up, shopping, getting my wig cut and styled just right, more shopping, and having a lot of really great laughs together.  I can't thank her family enough for letting me borrow her for a few days of fun.  You are too kind.   Following my visit came the 14th day after my first round of chemo therapy.  Most people have no idea what that means, but I was told that on day 14 my hair would start falling out...and it did...like clock work!  Now, it wasn't coming out in big chunks or anything, but my scalp was sore and every time I would touch my hair a little would come out.  At that moment, I had Brent shave my head.  He is such a trooper and did it with no hesitations, even though he knew that I would be entering the next stage of what cancer does to a person....It takes away your hair..."not cool, Robert Frost".  After he finished shaving my head, I had a moment of truth when I looked in the mirror, with half inch long hair.  Lets just say, I had several emotions going through my head...I felt courageous for taking the leap and fear of what I had just done to my hair, that would take many, many months to regrow. It also helped that Brent went to get his hair cut a few days earlier and much to my surprise, he came home with his head shaved.  All I can say is "whoa power alleys".  As for shaving my head, in the words of my husband, "it's only temporary!"  I wish I truly felt this way all of the time, but its just not the case.  The shock of my new look wore off quickly, but I was now at the "eager to be bald" stage.  I made a goal for all of my hair to be gone by my birthday, but that didn't happen.  What's so funny is that my blonde hairs are the ones that I have left and all of the brown hair is gone, so no more blonde jokes, cause they are tough cookies!.  At this point, I look a little like a Chia pet.  My scalp is very visible, but still covered by the few hairs I have remaining.  I still hope to be completely bald soon since this look doesn't exactly strike me as one to show off, if you know what I mean. Brent's stylist giving him a Mohawk before shaving his head! Payton even got in on the action!  Amidst all of the hair loss drama, I decided to go ahead and celebrate my 34th birthday.  I received so many birthday wishes and greetings from so many people and I can't thank you enough.  You sure know how to make a girl feel special.  On my birthday, I took it easy and just focused on the little things.  We ate breakfast at the Silver Grill, followed by play time at the City Park with friends, a trip to the Library, dinner at BJ's Brewhouse, and finished with a drive up to Horsetooth.  Nothing overly glamourous, but in my eyes, it was perfect.  I love watching my little people do anything, spending quality time with my family, friends, and my husband, and laughing, a lot!  The day following my birthday, I geared up for Round 2.  Brent and I went in early for my blood draw and infusions and was joined by my friends.  My friend, Tara, came down and visited for awhile, which made my day.  My friends Cate and Angie came to sit with me while I finished up my infusions.  We sat, talked, discussed the serious and the Bachelorette (which is very serious), laughed about everything, and well, just plain enjoyed our time together.  Although chemo seems so tough, it really is very relaxing and so far has been very enjoyable.  Now this last week, I was busy trying to stay busy.  I have a classroom to get ready, which is looking pretty good.  I decided to exert some energy this time around, more so than the last time, to see how my body would react.  This was an experiment to see which days I would definitely need coverage once we head back to school...next week.  What I found is that Day 1, 2, and 3 are totally doable.  Day 4 is about a half day of rest and Day 5 would be best if I could only relax enough to sleep.  That's a struggle!  However, I am looking forward to knowing that I only have two more rounds left and then I am officially done with this Chemo business. I wanted to mention again how incredibly thankful I am for all of the meals that people have been bringing and the help people have given us to watch our little ones.  It's been so wonderful and the meals are amazing.  I'm not quite sure what I will do when I have to cook for my family again. As you all know, school is around the corner and I am very excited to get started.  Sounds crazy, I know, but the sooner we get started, the quicker my treatments will be a thing of the past.  Time flies when we are having fun!  Speaking of fun, I can't wait for the next season of the Bachelor as Juan Pablo is easy on the eyes....and that accent...and his....ok, I'll stop!  Oh yeah, and we share a birthday...that's a great birthday gift if you ask me.