It seems winter has returned to our area bringing colder weather and the potential for snow. We sure could use the moisture. The cold, I am not so certain, has agreed with me this winter.
I asked JC never to go south in the winter and play cards on picnic tables while golf carts buzz around the neighborhood, like children on their bikes used to cruise from one house to the next looking for someone to play with.
Winter is one of four seasons and a reason to love North Dakota until now. Since my cancer treatments, whether radiation, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, or targeted chemo pills, are the cause, I am cold all the time. Cold all the time, between these new hot flashes I am experiencing.
Top off that broken thermometer with my chemically-induced tan and my once-reliable body betrays me at a moment’s notice.
With that, I still feel like I’m trying to get over my hospital stay, but the gray days are forcing me to nap — a lot.
But, it is gardening season. I have things to do, like seed trays and transplant peppers. So even though it is only 24 degrees, I bundled up and headed to the greenhouse to fill some trays with soil. I remembered to wear my leather gloves today because on Saturday I about froze my hands off touching that potting mix.
Glory be, the sun came out, and with all the windows in the greenhouse, it was so warm. Even though I told myself not to worry about the winter debris and spilled soil, I grabbed a broom and started sweeping.
And, then, I swept some more. I made it around the table, feeling empowered by every dustpan tossed out the door. I went back for more.
On the trip back to the house with trays in hand, I reveled in how beautiful the sunshine and fresh air made me feel, which brings me to this.
Do you have one-liners from your parents that you repeat to your children?
Most of the ones my dad used are unacceptable in mixed company but I remember my Aunt Alice saying, “How can something as wonderful as the sun be so bad for you?”
True that. Nothing feels as wonderful as spring sunshine on your winter-weary skin, although some of us are dealing with the effects of our never-heard-of-sunscreen youth. (Remember slathering yourself with baby oil and baking on a blanket in the backyard?)
And then my mother’s favorite saying comes to mind. I know I have said it before, “Go outside and get the stick blowed off you.”
Somehow, my whole day turned around, and I was ready to tackle plants, jigsaw puzzles, writing, and preparing for my presentation on Thursday, not to mention my upcoming trip to D.C., April 7-10.
And, speaking of that trip, if I do not post next Monday, fear not, I will be off to tell my story with the American Lung Cancer Association, which in a nut shell appears here: https://www.lung.org/lung-force/lung-force-heroes/sue-b.
So, I am praying for a safe and fruitful journey and warmer days ahead. In the meantime, “Go outside and get the stink blowed off ya.”
INDYchildrendotme 
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