August 6, 2008
Home again, and Sanctuary stands quiet and overgrown, waiting for its fruits to complete their ripening. There has been no wind or breeze and the heat wave silenced bird and insect alike. This morning, the temperatures were back down a bit, but the humidity remains high, causing Charles to remark that “the orchids are dancing in their pots”. Most of the birds are no longer singing loudly, but appear to be resting up from the trials of raising their fledges. Some have already left on their migrations to other places; the swallows and orioles are gone, many of the red-winged blackbirds have departed, and just a few of the wrens remain. Literally thousands of miles will be covered by our population of avian friends before we see them again next spring.
My blood counts came up again, taking me out of the “critical” levels back to hover just above the numbers that signal great concern about immunities. Heidi says that this improvement came about because of the homemade pastas that we consumed in Estes Park, followed by the operas in Santa Fe – since both were highly enjoyable, I would be pleased to apply the cure all over again, at any time and in any place.
It has been 31 months now since I began “My New Life” and in two weeks, we meet with the oncologist again. I have been thinking about decisions that will need to be made at that time, for we will discuss whether to resume a course of chemotherapy to make a bid for more earth time, or whether we will simply let the days dictate the future. Once again, I am praying for absolute clarity even though I know that it is a rare commodity. To date, body and blood’s condition and the progression of the disease have provided the guideposts, and so it will likely continue. God is good, I still have life, and for today, that is enough.