Part Sixty-Three: The Little Things

            Showing off OCSRI-Tulsa to friends Stephanie and Karen on Tuesday was fun.  The big smile and good-bye hug from one of the lovely ladies at the radiation front desk was nice.  Ringing the bell was happy.  Being done with cancer treatments is a relief.

            But it still doesn’t feel real.  Yet.

            Showing the bell-ringing video to my grandchildren gives me a kick.  Four-year-old Joelle exclaims, “You rang the bell, Grandma!  Jesus took your cancer away!  Your hair smells good.”  Eighteen-month-old Josiah watches the clip, then laughs and claps his hands over his head.  Even seven-year-old Benjamin (who has never been a fan of smartphones or computer screens) comes over to look and touches the top of my head.

            At home things are the same, though with an extra three hours to my day, I manage to get some stuff done.  And I can choose between morning and afternoon naps.

            The radiation site (where the Sharpie circles were drawn) of the last five treatments will continue to worsen for a few more days.  Aquaphor is my new best friend.  My armpit skin is peeling.  I’m gradually fading from red to brown.  The sharp, painful twinges still strike now and then. 

And, yes, I am bone-tired at times.  But this morning I vacuumed the stray pieces of popcorn from the rug under the dining room table as well as the scraps of dried leaves that enter on my shoes from the garage door to the kitchen.  And I even put away the clean dishes from both drainer and dishwasher, loaded up the dirty dishes, and then washed the non-dishwasher-approved stuff in the sink.  I’ve been taking it easy ever since.

Yesterday I went to a 12:15 p.m. sacred concert, picked up the two things I needed at Walmart (bananas and peanut butter), and wrote an article for the church bulletin.  I still need to file my taxes, though, which is easy to procrastinate since I don’t expect a return.

And God still shows up in the details:  the timing of a phone call, a devotional reading that is perfect for the day, an email that encourages me to write just when I need to, and words to share.

It’s the little things that make up a life, and I am grateful for all of them.