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7:30a

I am so glad I didn’t wake up in a tent like so many here in the park did this morning.  The rain is just hard enough to splatter noisily on the awning above my porch.  It’s not all that cold of a rain, but it is drenching those running for the bathhouse for their morning visit.  I don’t understand tenters in Oregon.  The rain can come at a drop of God’s hat.  There is no guarantee of dry ground here.  They are either crazy, or have been in Oregon long enough to think the rain is just part of the experience.  Either way, I call it crazy.

The mist is covering the hillside across the river.  So much so that one might be tricked into believing the land flat from the water on. What a surprise it would be to run smack into the invisible mountain behind the cloud.   I can relate to that.  I have run smack into a hidden mountain myself.  Now I have to climb over it, as blind to what is on the other side as the deceived traveler in the mist.

Today, we go to OHSU to see the wizard of all Wizards.   The Wizard of “OHS”-u.  Where the heck is the yellow brick road?

Dan has gone to the job site to plan the day for his helper.   He needs to drive his work van up to Portland this time to pick up supplies for the job. I get to drive with the kids on my own. He said I don’t have to go as early as he does, but I am afraid I might get lost in a poppy field with the Wicked Witch of the Northwest on my heels.

I lost my sense of direction when the Fibromyalgia invaded my life.  Now that I have gained a sense of purpose, you would think a sense of direction would come along.  But it hasn’t.   I guess you have to pay extra for that.  Now I go where I am directed, hopefully with someone else driving, and get out when I get there.  It is actually much simpler this way.

I wonder how the FibroCreature is going to react to being usurped in importance by the CancerMonster?  So far, I can’t tell.  Everything is getting blamed on the new foe and the old one is coasting along in his wake.  Once the CancerMonster is eradicated, the Fibro Guy might begin to howl.  Not my problem today.

Ok, the rain is now cold.  I guess I should go inside to get warm and ready for the trip to Portland.

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9:00a

The sleepy children have voted to leave later and not follow Dad.  They have faith in my navigational skills.  That and the fact that they move slowly in the morning.

Yesterday on the way to the library,  I  called the salon where I have had my hair cut by the same hairdresser for the last couple years, to see if Tracy would be able to fit me in while I was up there.

“Tracy no longer works here.”

WHAT?

It is a woman’s nightmare to have their hairdresser up and move on them.  “How about we give you a 20% discount to see someone else here?”  “How about I pay you the 20% to tell me where Tracy is working now?”  No deal.  Rats.

“Hey Tracy, formally from U.T. & B.?  If your reading this send me an email! I haven’t moved to Texas yet!”

While grumbling over the disappearance of my beloved Tracy, I learned one thing I had set out to do had been done.  “Why do you need a haircut?  It’s all gonna fall out anyway!” said a smart-alec girl’s voice in the back seat.   Then the other one piped in with “Yeah, spend that money on me.  I need a haircut and my hair’s not gonna fall out.”  Not to be outdone, the boy exclaimed, “Spend the money on ME!  Buy me some candy!”

See, many times in the past month, I have joked about my hair falling out and me getting a blonde wig.  The joke’s intent was to make the day it does fall out less scary for the kids (and me).   Now I know they expect to see me bald.  They are all prepare for it.   Wonder if I am?

Dan has come and gone but the rain hasn’t.  I shouldn’t be surprised.  It is Oregon after all. But it has been raining most of the last couple days.  That is not usual for this time of year.   Of course, I haven’t lived on the coast before. So maybe it is normal here.  I don’t know.

Normal.  Wonder what it’s like to be normal?  A normal person would get a normal cancer.   I have been called a lot of things in my life, but normal was never mentioned in my direction.  Why would I start being Normal now?

Not only do I have an abnormal cancer, I have it at an abnormal age and in an abnormal spot.

Sometimes abnormal is the norm.

Yes, yes. I am rambling all over the place this morning.  It keeps my mind off of what this magical Dr H will most likely tell me this afternoon.  As soon as he tells me, I will tell you.

Just don’t tell me that I can’t live in a campground in an RV.   I like it here too much.

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7:40p

We are on our way back to the beach from the Emerald City.  Although we received some answers, others are still missing.  I’m in the parking lot at Home Depot waiting for Dan to come out.  The kids are settled in the back seat with a movie on the laptop.  We’re all fried.  Since we drove two cars, I have to drive myself back to the beach.  That’s why I’m waiting for Dan.  I just want to follow the back of his work van instead of thinking about which way to turn.

I know you must be anxious to here the news, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.  Today is done but for the final curtain close.  And that is a two and a half hour drive away.