May 12th is my dad’s birthday. I have been thinking of him so much with appreciation and love. He gave me and all he touched so much in such a gentle way. Any of you who have seen a wry grin appears on my face can trace it directly to him. And he too appreciated the humor of his own vision. Any of you who have seen me identify a plant or an animal behavior should know I learned it at his knee. Any of you who have seen me not rise to the bait know that I learned emotional vegetarianism by living with him….
The spring has been gorgeous and beautifully spread out so each flowering beauty and leafing has its own time.
I am almost a week post surgery, and the week has been a hard one. The good thing about a hard time is there can be some downhill after. There is a gradual improvement of bodily functions, but it’s a bumpy, gassy, road.
The spring has been gorgeous and beautifully spread out so each flowering beauty and leafing has its own time.
I will probably go home midweek and start chemo again the following week. My doctors and all my friends are working with me towards coming to a state of poise-- holding this aggressive cancer in check so that I can do the work I love and be with the family and friends I cherish.
Love,
Mary
Monday, May 12, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Blog May 8, 2008
Operation over!
Recovery a little prolonged. The bowel is fixed and will be useable in a few days. No food or water for what seems like a long time. But those liquids and good nutrition will be ever so welcome when they come.
I have lots of support here and the right combination of being by myself so I can rest and some family coming by so I can hear the news.
Next Wednesday seem like a probable day for release and I feel I will be ready for it. I am already sitting up and going for laps around the floor.
Much love and thanks for all the prayers and thoughts coming from you, my wonderful friends.
Love,
Mary
Recovery a little prolonged. The bowel is fixed and will be useable in a few days. No food or water for what seems like a long time. But those liquids and good nutrition will be ever so welcome when they come.
I have lots of support here and the right combination of being by myself so I can rest and some family coming by so I can hear the news.
Next Wednesday seem like a probable day for release and I feel I will be ready for it. I am already sitting up and going for laps around the floor.
Much love and thanks for all the prayers and thoughts coming from you, my wonderful friends.
Love,
Mary
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Blog May 6, 2008
Dear ones,
After a period of feeling on top of the world, several weeks ago I began having worrisome symptoms. I went back into treatment and then had an episode that took me back into Sloan last Thursday night with a small bowel obstruction. Conservative treatment didn’t solve the problem and I am slated for a small surgery later this afternoon. My daughters will be here with me and I am completely at peace with this decision and an in good hands.
I expect to have a quick recovery and be home and up and about soon.
I know there are lots of bumps like this in the road ahead. Thank you for staying with me on it.
With love and appreciation for the hands that reach out to me from all directions,
Mary
After a period of feeling on top of the world, several weeks ago I began having worrisome symptoms. I went back into treatment and then had an episode that took me back into Sloan last Thursday night with a small bowel obstruction. Conservative treatment didn’t solve the problem and I am slated for a small surgery later this afternoon. My daughters will be here with me and I am completely at peace with this decision and an in good hands.
I expect to have a quick recovery and be home and up and about soon.
I know there are lots of bumps like this in the road ahead. Thank you for staying with me on it.
With love and appreciation for the hands that reach out to me from all directions,
Mary
Monday, March 17, 2008
March 17, 2008
Dear Friends,
The week in Mexico with Dean and Rebecca Learner and old and new friends was wonderful and full of wonder. On the beach for every sunrise and sunset, I enjoyed the unfolding and refolding vibrancy of the sky and sea. Trumpeting colors announced and celebrated each day and the inestimable value of being present for the present.
At least twice a day I swam and walked in the warm clear water and felt the renewal of my skin, the quietness of my mind, and the buoyancy of my body and spirit. The horizon spoke eloquently of the wholeness of the earth and the interconnectedness of us all.
I rested each day, ate nourishing food, and found joy in the reality of the practice and ideas of yoga as they permeated my skin, mind, and spirit.
Rested and strong, I returned to New York. During the past week I went through tests and received the result at week’s end that there is no active cancer at this time!
While I am aware that there are no certainties for the future, I am equally aware that there is every reason to celebrate the present. I am eager to share this celebration with all of you who have been so generous with your prayers, thoughts, and help!
For now, I am appreciating normalization and recovery with no chemo. I am taking an estrogen blocker with a good record in preventing reoccurrence.
Spring is in the air -- sporadically. But the trees and bushes are budding and the calendar is making its way into the certainty of renewal.
I am grateful beyond words and appreciate each of my friends and blessings.
All the best!
Mary
The week in Mexico with Dean and Rebecca Learner and old and new friends was wonderful and full of wonder. On the beach for every sunrise and sunset, I enjoyed the unfolding and refolding vibrancy of the sky and sea. Trumpeting colors announced and celebrated each day and the inestimable value of being present for the present.
At least twice a day I swam and walked in the warm clear water and felt the renewal of my skin, the quietness of my mind, and the buoyancy of my body and spirit. The horizon spoke eloquently of the wholeness of the earth and the interconnectedness of us all.
I rested each day, ate nourishing food, and found joy in the reality of the practice and ideas of yoga as they permeated my skin, mind, and spirit.
Rested and strong, I returned to New York. During the past week I went through tests and received the result at week’s end that there is no active cancer at this time!
While I am aware that there are no certainties for the future, I am equally aware that there is every reason to celebrate the present. I am eager to share this celebration with all of you who have been so generous with your prayers, thoughts, and help!
For now, I am appreciating normalization and recovery with no chemo. I am taking an estrogen blocker with a good record in preventing reoccurrence.
Spring is in the air -- sporadically. But the trees and bushes are budding and the calendar is making its way into the certainty of renewal.
I am grateful beyond words and appreciate each of my friends and blessings.
All the best!
Mary
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Blog January 22, 2006
Dear Friends,
This weekend as I crisscrossed Central Park, the first snowdrops delighted my eyes. There they were, pushing aside the nurturing soil that covered them in the darkest days and popping up. neck first, snowy blossoms facing the earth.
The days are getting longer and so are mine! The healing rest after surgery has allowed me to pop up too. My lifelong friend, Elizabeth, was with me for this past long weekend and we were indeed out and about. We walked Fifth and Madison Avenues on the grey day and went to the Met for the African exhibit and the Jewish Museum for the William Steig exhibition. We pondered Pinter’s The Homecoming and Beckett’s Happy Days as part of our literary heritage. We sang lots and lots of old favorites at a sing-a-long at the JCC.
If all of this sounds like a lot, I nap in the afternoon and am being nourished by wonderful meals delivered with love by devoted friends.
And of course the news of the optimal outcome from the surgery is adding to the bounce of my step.
I am often asked if I am practicing. Of course I am and I use the lessons of yoga every hour, starting from when I opened my eyes and embraced the world in the first conscious breath after “being under.” I credit yoga with my experience of being able to ease pain and have a positive attitude pervade all my sheaths.
My daughters and their families have been wonderful as have been so many devoted friends who are communicating with me above and below the radar. I am the grateful beneficiary of your prayers, meditations and thoughts.
I have been to the Institute and will go more regularly next week to gradually resume my life there and my teaching. This week I will also start a 2-month regimen of chemotherapy. I have clearance to go on my annual trip to Isla Mujeres with Dean Learner for my beloved Feathered Pipe the first week of March so life is indeed going on positively for me.
All the Best to all of you. I know it is a cliché, but don’t forget to smell the flowers… or at least smile them…
With appreciation and love,
Mary
This weekend as I crisscrossed Central Park, the first snowdrops delighted my eyes. There they were, pushing aside the nurturing soil that covered them in the darkest days and popping up. neck first, snowy blossoms facing the earth.
The days are getting longer and so are mine! The healing rest after surgery has allowed me to pop up too. My lifelong friend, Elizabeth, was with me for this past long weekend and we were indeed out and about. We walked Fifth and Madison Avenues on the grey day and went to the Met for the African exhibit and the Jewish Museum for the William Steig exhibition. We pondered Pinter’s The Homecoming and Beckett’s Happy Days as part of our literary heritage. We sang lots and lots of old favorites at a sing-a-long at the JCC.
If all of this sounds like a lot, I nap in the afternoon and am being nourished by wonderful meals delivered with love by devoted friends.
And of course the news of the optimal outcome from the surgery is adding to the bounce of my step.
I am often asked if I am practicing. Of course I am and I use the lessons of yoga every hour, starting from when I opened my eyes and embraced the world in the first conscious breath after “being under.” I credit yoga with my experience of being able to ease pain and have a positive attitude pervade all my sheaths.
My daughters and their families have been wonderful as have been so many devoted friends who are communicating with me above and below the radar. I am the grateful beneficiary of your prayers, meditations and thoughts.
I have been to the Institute and will go more regularly next week to gradually resume my life there and my teaching. This week I will also start a 2-month regimen of chemotherapy. I have clearance to go on my annual trip to Isla Mujeres with Dean Learner for my beloved Feathered Pipe the first week of March so life is indeed going on positively for me.
All the Best to all of you. I know it is a cliché, but don’t forget to smell the flowers… or at least smile them…
With appreciation and love,
Mary
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Dear friends,
I am into my second day post surgery.
The operation went really well. The surgeon reported that it was an optimal result! So I am very pleased as you can imagine.
The first few days are a little tough, but I am making progress on all fronts.
Thank you for all your prayers, meditations and good thoughts.
More later.
With love,
Mary
I am into my second day post surgery.
The operation went really well. The surgeon reported that it was an optimal result! So I am very pleased as you can imagine.
The first few days are a little tough, but I am making progress on all fronts.
Thank you for all your prayers, meditations and good thoughts.
More later.
With love,
Mary
Friday, December 28, 2007
Dec 28, 2007
It is time of the year to be grateful and forward looking. I am both--in full measure.
The tests following my first course of treatment show steady, good progress. My doctors and I have decided that the next step will be another surgery which will happen on January 4th. I look forward to a recovery made easier because I feel strong and healthy and have good systems in place for that time.
Elizabeth Whalley has been here with me for Christmas, something she has been doing since my daughter, Louise, was two. We celebrated with both of my daughters and their families. Friends, two wonderful families with four grandchildren make for the best presence.
No snow here, but lots of holiday flurries. I had a special day with Bryan, Louise and Scot’s son aged 13, at Cirque du Soleil, followed by lunch at Michael Jordan's, embellished by the music and light show at Grand Central. Christmas eve we had a great feast and lots of fun, and then presents and glee for all, especially Matthew aged three, on Christmas morn.
Elizabeth and I got in Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline and The Bucket List too. We did the Met and the Whitney in one day and the next The New Contemporary Museum sandwiched between my two classes. Wow!
We reflect on the year at this time, and it has been a big one, with both big challenges and great joy. There was a celebration at the Institute of the Iyengar Yoga Association of New York’s coming of age. As part of the festivities, I was honored to learn that, among other things, I was “the champion of stiff people.” In the spirit of the year’s end, I want to enlarge my championing-- and will work on that in the coming year.
So many gifts from you are in my heart, so many of you have wished me well and prayed and meditated for me. So many of you have written or called and given me such smiles. The richness of this year is one of friendships and learning and connecting. I have music to listen to, poetry to read, and the warmth of your hugs and words and well wishes to take forward.
Wishing you your dreams!
Mary
It is time of the year to be grateful and forward looking. I am both--in full measure.
The tests following my first course of treatment show steady, good progress. My doctors and I have decided that the next step will be another surgery which will happen on January 4th. I look forward to a recovery made easier because I feel strong and healthy and have good systems in place for that time.
Elizabeth Whalley has been here with me for Christmas, something she has been doing since my daughter, Louise, was two. We celebrated with both of my daughters and their families. Friends, two wonderful families with four grandchildren make for the best presence.
No snow here, but lots of holiday flurries. I had a special day with Bryan, Louise and Scot’s son aged 13, at Cirque du Soleil, followed by lunch at Michael Jordan's, embellished by the music and light show at Grand Central. Christmas eve we had a great feast and lots of fun, and then presents and glee for all, especially Matthew aged three, on Christmas morn.
Elizabeth and I got in Cyrano de Bergerac with Kevin Kline and The Bucket List too. We did the Met and the Whitney in one day and the next The New Contemporary Museum sandwiched between my two classes. Wow!
We reflect on the year at this time, and it has been a big one, with both big challenges and great joy. There was a celebration at the Institute of the Iyengar Yoga Association of New York’s coming of age. As part of the festivities, I was honored to learn that, among other things, I was “the champion of stiff people.” In the spirit of the year’s end, I want to enlarge my championing-- and will work on that in the coming year.
So many gifts from you are in my heart, so many of you have wished me well and prayed and meditated for me. So many of you have written or called and given me such smiles. The richness of this year is one of friendships and learning and connecting. I have music to listen to, poetry to read, and the warmth of your hugs and words and well wishes to take forward.
Wishing you your dreams!
Mary
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