Feeling Groovy

I've had a wonderful couple of days visiting with my dear cousin, Gina. My parents, Michael, and Shaunda came over for dinner last night (country-fried steak). Mom and Dad and Shaunda left after dinner. Mom and Dad went home, but Shaunda had tickets to Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center with some of her friends, so she left too. Michael, Gina, and I played Mexican Train Dominoes while Mike worked on fixing Gina's laptop. Mexican Train Dominoes is so much fun that Shaunda came back over after her play and we were all up really late playing. I went to bed around 1:30am just because I knew my body needed the rest, but everyone else was up until 3:30am. I didn't want to go to bed because I wanted to spend some more time with Gina before she left, but I seriously needed to rest. I bought Michael his own Dominoes set this afternoon so he could play on his own. This game is a ton of fun.

This morning my neighbor had a moving/yard sale and we were able to sell a few things and make a little extra money. Mike handled most of our sales while Michael, Shaunda, and I took Gina to the airport this morning. Frank and Sophie made crepes for breakfast since Gina had never eaten them before and she really liked them (especially with a little nutella spread). Michael and Shaunda took me to the NIH for my pit stop after the airport and everything went well.

Gina worked really hard on making sure I drink my water and I've been obeying orders, even now that she's gone. I have to admit that drinking all of this water does make me feel good. Gina drinks water all day long so she really is a good influence on me. I don't know if I'll ever be a whirlwind of activity like she is (she got up at 6am this morning after going to bed around 4am), but she definitely makes me have a little more energy to do things around the house. I hope to carry this positive energy into next week.

Speaking of next week, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law are coming to visit. Gail is coming on June 22nd and Brian arrives on June 27th. Unfortunately, I tend to become neutropenic by next Saturday/Sunday and they haven't seen me since I was diagnosed. I hope they aren't too shocked to see me, first, with no hair (Gina shaved it even shorter last night), and second, not feeling well. Gina saw me on a good week when I feel really good and I think she might have been a little surprised to see me actually looking so well. I just hope Gail is prepared for the sick me in the hospital. Mike pointed out that when I don't feel well he can tell because I tend to get really quiet. He's right. Normally, I'm talkative and chatty, but when I'm neutropenic or on my worst white count day, I don't even feel like talking and would prefer to just lie down in my hospital bed in silence. I'm really glad they are coming to visit because this visit will be good for both of us.