May is so busy. All of the school things for me, activities for Arthur, anniversaries, birthdays, Mother’s Day, concerts, and treatments and doctor’s appointments. It is a tornado of things. So many of them are really good things, however, like the other night when we had the missionaries over for dinner. There are three of them right now, and they are spectacular. We loved having them.

One of the very best extras of this month, was that Pamela came for a weekend visit over Lily’s birthday. Her flight got delayed and so she missed Arthur’s concert the night before, but we were still able to do so many great things, including doing a temple session with Kevin, Lily, and my sister Wendy. In fact, Pamela, Wendy, Lily and I each did family names for four sisters in the same session. It was awesome! And afterward we went to lunch and talked and laughed.

One of the truly amazing things that Pamela did for me was to make me some amazing puréed soups. After the long series of radiation I had on my spine, the radiation actually burned my esophagus, making it feel like “it was sunburned inside.” This is intensely painful, and any time I eat or drink anything, it is causing me terrible pain. I was prescribed something with lidocaine to gargle and swallow before meals to help numb it, but even with that, I still have to take baby sized bites so that it doesn’t have to stretch. Even burping air or drinking to big of a swallow of water is excruciating. And I have to be very careful of acidity – no chocolate, and other things like that. I am so hungry. (In fact, on Mother’s Day, while everyone was eating a yummy meal, I was eating Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup, because it was the least painful thing I could find.)

Well, Pamela was not going to have me starve, and so she bought me a Vitamix, came armed with a recipe book, we bought the ingredients and she made me three amazingly delicious soups that just slither down my throat. We put them in jars and froze them for me to pull out and eat. And they are so yummy! And yes, I still couldn’t eat bites bigger than a tiny bit on the end of my spoon – smaller than a baby bite 😂.

Another thing she did, was to help me make a yummy dessert for book club the next Tuesday, since there was no way I would have time or energy to do it mid-week. (I keep rethinking my choice to host in May, and wondering what kind of delusion I was acting under – ha ha!). Arthur got to enjoy one of the extras, which he loved! I added whipped cream and fresh raspberries to the chocolate mouse, and it was perfect. And as for me, I only ate the cream and raspberries, since the chocolate hurt too much.

It was so fantastic having Pamela here!! It always is a special gift, and we talked, laughed, watched a fun movie together with the family, “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” and she got to go to church with us (even though I was in too much pain to last both meetings), and she helped me with Lily’s birthday. Such a blessing!!!

One sad, yet special thing that happened recently, was that the boys’ amazing piano teacher, Tony, passed away from a terrible battle with cancer. He was such a kind and loving teacher, and they adored him. His sister is who has been teaching Arthur since Tony got sick two years ago, and she let us know. Kevin and I weren’t able to attend, but Derek took his brother to the funeral and it was a very special experience for them.

While the boys were gone, Kevin and I went to a special 50th birthday celebration for our friend Brent Fisher. We started off with kickball in the gym at the church (since the rain had made a muddy mess of all the fields), which was quite the adventure. I was a bit out of commision, having had chemo the day before, and so Kevin had me set up in the corner on the side with home plate and I chilled in my anti-gravity chair and talked to my friends while they waited their turn. And I may have cheered and cat called a bit, especially when it was boys against girls. In true Kevin fashion, he sacrificed his body on the first play and got all bloody – ha ha!

After the game, we went to Shenai and Brent’s house for a BBQ. I was so hungry and the burgers smelled so good. All I really wanted was to eat a good burger, but it was not to be. Instead, I took a half of a pattie, cut it up into tiny pieces, with tiny pieces of cheese and miniscule tomato bites, which I would attempt to get on a fork and dip in ketchup. It wasn’t great, but it was so good. The best part, however, was getting to laugh and be with friends. Kevin and I were just commenting on truly blessed we are with the spectacular group of friends we have here in San Antonio.

And just because it is a silly and fun part of my days, I have a few friends that I share memes and reals with to connect and cheer each other up. When Penny decided to take a social media break, I was bummed at the things I couldn’t share, so I started screenshotting them and texting them to her 😂. Good times! These are a few of my favorites from the past week:

“My therapist: How do you stay connected to people? Me: I find a reel on instagram and send it to them . . .”

I”I’m not overwhelmed because I can’t handle it. I’m overwhelmed because I do handle it. All of the time.”

Me trying to remember something I told myself to remember, but all I remember is that I wasn’t supposed to forget.

PSA: We are at a restaurant and I say “What are you getting?” That means I am trying to build a tasting menu between us. Don’t act new.

Please be kind to women over 40. Most of us have been awakened at 3am by the hormonal alarm clock, fought brain fog all day, experienced 55 emotions before noon and walked into a room and forgot why we walked into it. Lol

I be like “long story short,” then tell it with behind the scenes bonus features.

Ahh, the things we do to survive all the crazy in life. Thank goodness for amazing friends and family that make it all worth while.