39 + a card giveaway

dear 39,

well here we are, we finally meet up. it is really good to see you, i have been waiting for you for a long time.

as i did with 38, i have a lot of high hopes for you my friend.

just so you know what i have in mind, here is a little list of what i plan on being some of the highlights. the joy from seeing malena on our trip to disneyland. her total excitement when we surprise her with a trip in september. short weekend trips. watching her start kindergarten. celebrating her turning 6, and watching her grow into that 6th year and all of the good things it will bring her way. pumpkin patches. halloween. picking out the costume. trick or treating. thanksgiving. christmas and all of the traditions it brings. family and friend birthdays. a million big moments, and just as many small ones. all of them good.

i also intend to slow down in your year to make sure that i take more time to catch my breath and relax. i plan on doing this by saying no to say yes (see episode 17) more in my life. by reading more. by spending more time in my craft room. making more happy mail. creating more. cooking more. finding new recipes. playing more. taking more photos. learning more about topics i am interested in. just taking more time to intentionally slow down the pace.

i am going to have to trust you right from the start. you are beginning at a time that has been unexpectedly tough for me. you come on the heals of july 16th which is always a rough one. you also come close to the time that i would typically be gearing up for scans at the three month mark, and my emotions have kicked in as if those scans were going to happen now. between you and me, i also have a lot of anxiety about not having scans now and wondering what might be going on inside my body that i don't know about. i knew this three month mark would be a rough patch to get over. hopefully those scans will show nothing, i know it will be nothing. there is no other option, right 39? right. but those scans won't happen now, we will have three months together before we come up on scans. so, i need to trust that your first three months are going to treat me well and that you will only bring me good news when those scans do roll around. can you promise me that? i know that you wish that you could, but i will continue to believe and hold out hope that you can deliver even though i know the fates don't leave it all up to you. man, how i wish that they did.

i hope that you give me another 365 days. i hope that they are healthy ones. i hope that you and i can stay close, keep our heads down, not draw any attention from the cancer fates, and make it through while making amazing memories along the way.

you scare me a bit 39 because i don't know what you hold. i am not sure what you will bring my way, and the unknown of you petrifies the daylights out of me. but you are here now and so all i can do is embrace you and trust that you and i will make it through. after all, i have been waiting 13, 870 days for you to show up. so i have a lot time invested in you, and i am so thankful that you are here. i believe in my heart that you will be so worth the wait.

so thank you for showing up, i love you for that more than you know.

despite how you might scare me and cause me concern, i am really excited that you are here and i am anxious to see all of the good things that you are going to bring my way.

it is you and me for the next 365 days, let's plan on more good ones than bad. what do you say? do we have a deal? i thought so, so glad that we are on the same page about that.

also, if you carry me through to your friend 40, i am pretty sure that there will be a party and of course you will totally be invited. 38 and the other years will be getting an invite too so you will have friends to party with. so you might want to keep that in mind when you think about those scans coming up. i know that since you are a lot like me, you probably like hard ciders and i will make sure that there are many of them cold and waiting just for you the night of the party. just a little incentive for your consideration.

well here we go 39, day one. i always like new beginnings, so i am pretty fond of you already.

you be good to me, and i will be good to you.

we've got this. so grab my hand and let's do this.

anywhere you go 39, i go.

sincerely,

me

+++ card giveaway -- i decided that the start of 39 is a great reason to have a card giveaway. right? right. so here is the deal. leave a comment on the blog, email me, text me, leave me a message on fb, instagram, send up smoke signals, skydive out of a plane, send me a telegraph, charter a plane to fly over my house with a sign...whatever way you typically communicate with me, let me know that you want to be entered into the card giveway. let me know by 9pm on thursday (7/17) and i will announce the winner on tomorrow night's post.

i figured that it would be appropriate to give away 5 cards (with stamped envelopes) with my "kicking ass and taking names" stamp to mark 39's arrival. so if you would like a chance to win 5 cards made by yours truly, get in touch by 9pm. good luck;)