Good morning everyone,

Today is the one year anniversary of my diagnosis and I don’t know what to do with myself.  I am ecstatic, I am excited, I am overjoyed, I am humbled, I am blessed, and I am alive!!!  Driving to work in my car this morning, I screamed out at the top of my lungs, I AM ALIVE!!!  Can you hear me?  Haha.

For those of you who know me well, you know how devastated I was when I found out that I had breast cancer.  You held my hand, sat beside me, fed me, held me, prayed for me, ran errands, brought food, flowers (I love flowers, but then again doesn’t every girl?), popsicles, movies, Netflix, cards, books, helped me to take care of my baby, helped me to take care of me, cried with me, rejoiced with me; you brought me love; you gave me back to myself when in my pain and despair, I had forgotten who I was, and you stood beside me as I went through the process of physical metamorphosis through my treatment and spiritual metamorphosis in my walk with God.  

I am so thankful and grateful to all of you for your love and support and I know I couldn’t have done it without you.  I used to be so independent, and still am, but I now know that some interdependence does count for something.  I learned that life is a big circle, a circle of love and community.  One of the most powerful lessons I learned is to reach out to the other hands in the circle when I needed to and to ask for help.  Giving alone is only half of the blessing; learning to receive with gratitude and love completes it.  

I also learned to be thankful for challenges and for the things I cannot yet see.  Putting our faith in God fully allows him to know that we do trust Him to do his work…and he will.  I learned to live my best life now, fully and with gusto, for this moment today, now is yours and mine.  Hold it and rub your face in it, like you would a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer, smell the fabric softener and revel in it…you know what I mean. :O)

Again, thanks to all of you.  I love you.  Thanks for being my teachers and my inspiration.

Last, but most importantly, thanks and gratitude to my baby Noel for inspiring me and giving me a reason to hold on when I was at my darkest hours.  You have been one of God’s greatest manifestations in my life.  Thank you for being my baby.