January - The year began with a trip to the poorly-named Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to meet the Wizard. We returned to Atlanta for my first chemo session. And then I started learning how to manage my side effects, including some steroid-induced insomnia.
February - My next couple of rounds of chemo brought me closer to my new BFF, Imodium. In fact I wrote a poem singing her praises. Marcie and I also had a little alone time in the Tennessee foothills, which was a welcome break from the new routine.
March - Came in like a lion, and out like a mouse. Yeah, I know, it's supposed to be a lamb, but stay with me here. See I was lyin' on the PET Scan table for the first time, and getting great results earlier in the month and we were packing for our awesome family trip to Disney at the end.
April - We knew to expect princesses, pirates, and even seven vertically-challenged whistlers, but we had no idea we'd also meet an angel named Doris at Disney. We said a peaceful goodbye to a mother from A&J's class that month, and recalled my own mother's favorite time of year, the family gatherings at the Seder Table.
May - As the month began the cumulative effects of 6 rounds of Chemo were beginning to take a toll on me. But a mid-month PET Scan showed continued good results, so I got over it. Marcie and I celebrated our 18th anniversary to close out the month, just as the Week From Hell began.
June - We survived that first week, thrilled by Adam's performance in Guys and Dolls, and touched by the number of friends and family that joined us for his Bar Mitzvah. And for some reason, I decided that was the perfect time to start writing a book.
July - It's hard to imagine a better father-son month than July '11. Adam and I ran the Peachtree Road Race together on the 4th, in his first ever 10k. Then we jetted off to NYC for a few days in the city that never sleeps - apparently because it's 104 degrees at midnight!
August - I learned that my feet and hands have much in common with dairy cow teets. My book made it to Amazon that month too, and I started making plans for that little beach house we've always wanted and would soon be able to afford with the proceeds from book sales. I'm only about 300,000 books short of my goal now.
September - I was treated to one Falcons Game Road Trip and won another one, doubling the number of NFL games I'd seen in person in the last 10 years. There were some interesting characters at chemo session #12.
October - I met the Pulitzer Prize Winning Author in person and even told him mine was the bathroom companion book to his. I also held my own book signing later in the month and was humbled by the turnout of friends and supporters. Oh, and Dr Z. told me there was No Evidence of Disease.
November - Running was making a big return in my life by now, and the blog posts about spending a great weekend with friends in Savannah and winning the survivor's category in my underwear later in the month certainly reflected that trend. I also challenged the Almighty, in memory of yet another mom whose life cancer cut short.
December - Life is beginning to return to normal, which leaves me with less to write about. I am so grateful for this year, for the good health I now enjoy, for my family who put up with all the challenges of my illness and varying mental state, and for the friends, co-workers, and readers whose support carried my through some of those tough days. I look forward to celebrating a 2012 that I hope will be easier on all of us, and so full of good times that's there no room left for anything else.
