Two Years Later

It’s been a while since I’ve written on this blog. I started it in 2018 as a way to process the multitude of things that were happening to and around me. It provided an outlet to give a voice and insight to what it was like to be a cancer patient raising two young kids. I had hoped that it would help dispel the notion that “It can’t happen to me or anyone I know”.  I wanted to be heard and the story of my journey told.

When I received some comments about my blog posts but doubted the real impact. I often told myself that people were being kind in acknowledging what I had written. In posting I was being very exposed and vulnerable, something that’s still uncomfortable but there’s beauty in it. There’s a raw sense of what’s real and not trying to pretend to not feel pain. Life is painful. My attempts to avoid pain only lead to more. The journey is how you deal with it. What you do in spite of the pain and even accept and embrace it is what matters. It’s easy to label things as what is considered “good” or “bad”,  but it’s a matter of perspective. What we sometimes perceive as being a bad thing or a series of unfortunate events sometimes turns out to be something good in disguise. How do we know what’s good or bad then? We don’t. The “good” and “bad” experiences have made you who you are today. The failures, losses, and rejections have all played a part in becoming you. Many people may say it would have been better if “this had never happened” but how do you know? It may have been better, or it may not have been better.

In the last 3 weeks I’ve been contacted by 5 people who have read my blog or posts in Melanoma support groups and have shared with me their own personal stories. To say I was humbled is an understatement. It shook me to my core that something I had written had helped someone else and provided comfort and guidance. To others it was education and insight. My hope when I started writing was to find some comfort myself and make one life easier. The message may not reach many people, but I’m truly humbled by the stories of others that I have heard over the past few weeks, so thank you.

I have several posts that were started over the past year, but never finished. Would it have really mattered, who knew. Now I’m inspired to return to where I left off and continue it. Here we go…