just where we are

It's the last week of school. While usually an exciting time, this week is a tough one.

Before the cancer diagnosis, we had planned to be in Spain for two weeks of leadership training and conference meetings. As this gathering only happens every three years, we were eager to see friends with whom we had instantly bonded at the last conference. I was also excited by the fact that as my kiddos are now three years older, instead of breastfeeding a 6 month old in the back of the room, I could attend all the meetings and enjoy some grown-up conversations!

But, instead, we are working to get a refund on our tickets, admire the pictures of the conference on Facebook, prepare for end of school events, take slow walks to try to overcome side effects of chemotherapy, and try to count our blessings.

Yesterday, we gave some good news and some bad news to the kids. Bella had 8 healthy puppies. The timing was not what we had planned and our business plan of selling puppies to save for a vacation are not going to pan out. But there is nothing cuter than lab puppies and I am sure they will make someone happy. The sad news is that since we are delayed in our return and they are not getting good care, we need to find new homes for the dogs. This is plain hard. Lots of tears. Lots of loss. That's all I can say about that.

Days like these, being where we are instead of where we want to be and doing thing we would rather not do, remind me that some days, maybe weeks or month, are just plain hard. And that's ok. I love what the Fort Portal vanilla-farmer, Lulu, once told me: "Some people have the bounce back factor. Things don't work out as they had planned, but they bounce back. Those people are the ones that are going to make it."

I know we are Bounce Back People.