Little Boy Swims And Nick Takes The Plunge

Aaron slept over here for a night last weekend while Mama took a three day seminar on Reiki. Turns out there was a swimming lesson the next morning, and we were able to go with and watch. His instructor was patient as they got used to the water before starting anything else. And, evidently this was the first time that Aaron was able to do a back float without much assistance from his teacher. He was so proud! He even told me that sometimes we need to be brave when we're doing a back float... 

Another brave thing this weekend (I think brave, not sure I would have done it!) was the Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics in which Nick participated. He had a goal to raise $150, but ended up receiving donations of $537. Yes! Their team's name was the Bone Crushing Juggernauts.

Guess which one is Nick 😂

 

Wordless Wednesday (Fun Times At MOA)

Good Day Sunshine

I love the sun. 🌞  It just makes everything seem so much better. 

Being a child of the 60's and 70's, I spent a lot of time outdoors. We would play outside (unsupervised) most days, and spent many summer afternoons at the community pool. Of course there was no such thing as sunscreen. The goal was to get as tan as you possibly could, and there was sun tanning lotion to help you do that. Or, as we often did, we would put on a swimming suit, slather on baby oil, and fall asleep in the sun. You might wake up to a significant sunburn, but it was worth it when things peeled off to a gorgeous, golden tan.

I love the sun. 🌞  I like to go on long walks in the sun. I do wear sunglasses.

About a year ago, maybe two, I noticed a bite on my arm. I thought it was a bite, it was itchy although it really wasn't during mosquito season. It just never went away. Fast forward, I decided it was probably time to have a skin check with a dermatologist. A friend of ours had developed a melanoma on her arm last summer, so that spurred me on to make the appointment. I looked for pictures online of things that looked like what was on my arm, and braced myself for the possibility of it being a Basal Cell Carcinoma, although I held out some hope that it was only a dermatofibroma. 

They did a shave biopsy to rule out Basal Cell Carcinoma vs Melanoma vs Inflamed Dermatofibroma, and I had to wait a week or so for pathology results to come back. They told me I shouldn't lose sleep over it in the meantime, and I really didn't. But when the email notification showed up that biopsy results were back, I felt some anxiety as I walked to my laptop to check and see. 

Basal Cell Carcinoma. Much better than Melanoma. And now I have another excision procedure scheduled for in a month. Sadly, I think my years in the sun have finally caught up with me. I know I'm at risk of developing more of these in the future, I know I need to do more to protect my skin. 

But, I still love the sun. 🌞

  

Valentines Anniversary

We celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary this week. And since it's on Valentines Day, there can be extra pressure to celebrate big. 

Mom and The Ladies

But on Wednesdays I help Mom with her shower and laundry, and I decided to just stay the course and continue on with business as usual. It felt good to bring her treats, and see all the Valentines Day decorations that Elder Homestead had in the building. Mom was thrilled with the Valentine Bugles that Bruce made! 

Roses from Bruce, Purple Flowers from Aaron

Katie and the boys stopped by to drop off a card that Aaron had made, plus Dunkin' Donuts donut holes. 😋 I gave Bruce two sets of the 5 Crowns Card Game (one for the cabin), and he gave me some funky birds for the garden! And in the evening, we had our Wednesday Supper with Mark and Nick here, too. We had meatball stroganoff, and I made a heart shaped, lemon glazed cake. 

We settled in on the couch in the late evening to watch a few episodes of Young Sheldon, and even had a piece of Valentine chocolate. Happy Anniversary to us!

Wordless Wednesday (Vietnamese New Year Festival - Year Of The Dragon)