anniversary celebrations
May 29th was the 10th anniversary of our wedding (and marks almost 12 1/2 years since we began courting). I was feeling well enough that we actually got away for a couple of days, to a sweet little AirBnB in the Kickapoo region of WI. The weather was cold and rainy and I was fairly fatigued a lot of the weekend, so we didn't end up attempting a canoe or kayak down the Kickapoo (one of my favorite activities, so Don promised me a raincheck). We did have a lovely 1.4 mile hike up "Mt. Pisgah" (a 365 ft climb to an elevation of 1220 ft above sea level). I felt like I was hiking at 8,000 ft, probably due to lower hemoglobin levels or some other blood count thing. I took it "polay, polay," stopping every few feet near the top, and resting at the overlook for a long time. It was beautiful, with old growth hemlock and lots of fading trillium flowers. It had been raining most of the day and the sun came out while we were at the top! Later we sat (me wrapped in a blanket), on the deck of our cabin which was in a little valley, and watched the sun setting and strange cloud movements (higher white wispy clouds moving northeast, while lower, heavier, dark/gold-lined clouds moving southwest. On the way home yesterday we stopped and I took a short swim in Mirror Lake, despite the air temperature being only 64 deg. F (and the temperature of the concrete floor of the pit-toilet where I changed being what I was guessing to be 40 deg. F!)
We also marked our anniversary by watching videos of our wedding and rehearsal dinner and reading some of the compilation Don made a few years ago of our emails from our courtship. On the way out of town for the weekend we also visited A Woman's Touch, a Madison-based sexuality resource center with a specialization in helping couples address post-menopausal issues (now that the chemo is shutting down my ovaries, it seemed a good time to begin to address age-related changes we were noticing anyway). Turns out Ellen, one of the owners, also has lots of experience helping women deal with the aftermath of breast cancer. It was really great to get the knowledgeable support and advice, and it sounds like I'm doing well to not, at least so far, be totally dissociated from my body!!
All in all it was a fun weekend and good to get a change of scenery (though the packing up and driving took a lot of "spoons.") I didn't completely forget I had cancer, but didn't think about it much, and I think it helped Don a lot too!
Comments (17)
My goodness, Becca. Living beautifully. Thank you. Jane
Happy Anniversary to a lovely and loving couple! Smiling to you, Lorri
Mazal tov on the ten year milestone! May you have many more happy years together in good health. Lots of love. Continuing our prayers. glad you could celebrate in such a special way.
Happy Anniversary! What a great way to celebrate your loving partnership.
Mazol tov on your Anniversary.
Happy anniversary and many more! I can't get over how you hike and swim in the cold. With or without cancer! You are one sturdy woman, before, during and after treatment. I'm very proud of you. Much love, Joan
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
WOW! Sometimes these reflections leave me virtually breathless with the strength of your activities and depth of your ponderings, Becca! Smiling through the cold and wet; jumping into a still cold lake; seeing the gold lining in the dark clouds; being plan-full about your body's needs/relationship investment enough to stop at A Woman's Touch on the way home.....WOW! I remember so well your wedding day and the days/events around that time. You two began this marriage journey dealing with challenges from the beginning....in all ways so warm, loving, and flowing with it all as it came.....just as you are now and always have. It has stood you in good stead. May you both be blessed with wellness soon; joy always; and love that continues to deepen and broaden.
Happy Anniversary! I have very happy memories of the wedding! I wanted to let you know that the word "pisgah" in Hebrew means "peak / summit". I wonder who named that mountain, as it can't be coincidence - that person obviously knew Hebrew!
What a sweet post - happy anniversary to you both!
Congratulations! I have hiked there and love that area! Glad you two were able to celebrate in these special ways.
Mazel Tov on both your anniversary and the way you are using your spoons. Sometimes it takes spoons to plan how to use your spoons. It takes great strength to be in tune with your body, mind and emotions the way you are, Becca. Thank you for continuing to share your journey with us.
What a lovely post, Becca! Thank you for sharing your milestone. Happy anniversary to you and Don! Sonia
I'm so happy for you both for a lovely weekend together. Happy anniversary!
Happy anniversary to a wonderful couple. Your spirit of openness and playfulness in the midst of suffering is inspiring. I'm amazed that you were daring enough to swim in Mirror Lake in the cold. Wow. Thanks for continuing to share your journey with us.