Dear Reader:

How true the quotation title for this blog post is today! (“The only difference between an extraordinary life and an ordinary one is the extraordinary pleasures you find in ordinary things.“) It lets us know that that some of the most beautiful delights can be found in the ordinary days we spend in our life!

For example: I was so excited Thursday (at Anne’s house) to see that some of her daffodils were already popping up. When I got home I checked to see if I saw any evidence of anything popping up… where we had planted lots of birthday daffodil bulbs just a couple of months ago. I saw nothing.

But then…after getting home yesterday…I went back out and one of my “baby” camellia bushes was blooming and filled with buds. As I excitedly went to take its picture…I saw the green shoots beside it where a daffodil (my first) had just peeked its head through the ground!

Soon that whole area will be nothing but camellia bushes and daffodils blooming together in one little spot in the back yard. I am thrilled just thinking about it! Soon something extraordinary will take place from the ordinary.

…But that wasn’t all…I glanced at my old lean-to fence where our state flower, the yellow jessamine, has climbed and it is covered in little buds…only about a day or two away from making its grand entrance for the world to see!

February and March are its months to bloom and shine but it is beating the calendar this year.

In a Mt. Pleasant magazine I was reading… while waiting on my oncology appointment yesterday…Bill Northrop, in a cute little article spoofing winters in the lowcountry (titled “Pub Talk”) nicely poked fun at what he calls “Charleston Cold“… which means that it is winter, the location is Charleston, and “cold” is not “cold”…at least as defined by colder standards in over half of the country.

He ends the article saying ” So as you hear of winter storms up north dumping snow and causing mayhem and as you plan your remaining oyster festival outings and winter here quickly yields to spring, bask in the “cold” of Charleston’s average February highs of 63.0. This is winter here.” (Actually this weekend…we will be in the fifties for a high…so, watch out, we are having a “real” cold front come through…a Charleston Cold or perhaps a Lowcountry Low.)

I think part of my excitement yesterday was the idea of hope rising from the ground up. The last couple of days have been a little strange to say the least…and I needed a little hope to go around.

I had my three-week check-up with my oncologist scheduled for Thursday at 11:00. I woke up Thursday morning (barely morning) at 11:15! I haven’t slept that late since college… I did sleep in the whole time I was at Pawleys but had been getting up, again, between 8 and 9 after I got home.

My only excuse is that I got a wrong number telephone call around midnight and couldn’t get back to sleep. So by 2:30 I decided to take a couple of Night Time Tylenol capsules.  The rest is history…

I was lucky to be able to get worked in yesterday around 10:45…I spent the night at Mandy and John’s, getting up with everyone leaving for school…and I didn’t dare lay back down. I got there early for my appointment. When I gave the receptionist my name she laughed and said “Oh so you’re Sleeping Beauty!” We were all so jealous here in the office. We tried remembering the last time we were able to sleep that late. All of us have small children at home…I have a one-year-old…need I say more?”

I had more blood taken and the blood count is still somewhat low in a few categories… but not critically so…I have just completed two full rounds of the new chemo medication (two months) and nothing has spread any further than it was at the start.

In fact…it is showing shrinkage. This month, the third application, will be an important one in seeing if this trend continues. We are hoping this will be the case! I will keep you updated. For me, metaphorically, it is my ordinary daffodil performing extraordinary feats of growth…and hopefully for me my new treatment allowing hope to rise and “little c” to shrink.

So until tomorrow…Life is what we make it…so let’s make it the best!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

After school R&R…went to see and hear all about Disney World since I left to go to Pawleys as they were coming home. Spent the night so I would be sure to wake up in plenty of time for my doctor appointment!