When I taught middle school English, vocab words came with the territory. And being a dorky vocabulary sort, I even went through a season when I left a ‘word of the day’ on my answering machine. [Today’s word is ____. Tell us the definition, and we’ll call you back.] Seriously. Embarrassed. I am pretty sure that gave Jon second thoughts when he first called me. Now I’m learning words I don’t really care to know–parietal, nodularity, photopenia, stereotactic radiosurgery. While I’d rather not grasp whatever they mean, I’m sure glad somebody does. And what a miracle it is that researchers and engineers have developed the technology available today. And the people who operate it–rockstars.
My vocabulary this evening, however, is a string of simple words. I’ve been graced with another day to shout, “Yay, hallelujah, thank you.” It appears, after several scans of varying types, that recent concerns stem from radiation treatment-related effects, rather than recurring or new tumor activity. I will continue to have frequent scans and visits with my team of oncologists and neurologists. With extended family we have truly enjoyed a fantastic and full summer so far, but the rest is going to be as carefree as we all want summer to be. Margaritas, at last.
writing along the way 