No news is good news

It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update, mostly because I’ve been too busy to write. During the spring semester I was supposed to continue using my intermittent FMLA hours to work less than full-time, but I had too many commitments that couldn’t be postponed or reduced (I’m working on 3 grant-funded projects, co-editing a book, writing an article with my graduate assistant, etc.). From mid-March until last week, I read 800+ pages for doctoral student defenses (1 qualifying exam, 2 comprehensive exams, and 3 dissertations – including one of my advisees, who successfully defended). So obviously, I am back to working full throttle!

I’ve continued to bike indoors (45 minutes, 4-5 days a week). Every time I think it’s nice enough to try biking outside with my portable, the weather doesn’t cooperate. So, for now I’m getting to watch a lot of movies while biking – mostly artsy/depressing/foreign films and documentaries that don’t interest Leland.* I have a reputation for choosing these types of movies to watch as a couple or family. We only get a few minutes in before everyone else loses interest and then for months I endure merciless mocking for my bad movie choice. (The latest such incident was “Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants,” a wordless animated movie.)

A big “first” is that I have taken up strength training 2-3 days/week. I haven’t entered a gym since 1995 or ‘96, when I was living in Chicago and couldn’t run due to chronic shin splints. Over the past year, I’ve been reading a lot about how menopausal women benefit from heavy lifting. Berta at Kinetic Fitness (a small gym that she owns with her business partner, a colon cancer survivor) is fantastic. I’m able to use my portable, either putting it on the floor or wearing it as a backpack. I started at zero and am slowly building up strength. I’m now back to my pre-hospitalization level of doing 3 sets of 10 squats with a 20K kettle bell—and hoping to move beyond that. Once I get the hang of things, Berta will set me up with workouts that I can do independently at the gym and then we’ll do a periodic one-on-one session for a new set of workouts, etc. My exercise options are very limited because I have to use the portable, and I’m still depressed that I can’t run and will probably never be able to run again, but I am trying to work with the options I do have: biking and strength training.

Another first was Leland’s and my trip to Puerto Morelos (near Cancún) for our 20^th anniversary on May 3. This was our first international flight since the horrific flight back from Germany. I’m not comfortable yet being too far away from a hospital, so we chose to go somewhere that wasn’t too far off the grid. Everything went smoothly – it’s a direct 4–5-hour flight from Philadelphia. We just chilled at the resort, walked into town a couple times, and made the most of the swim-up bar, where I discovered a new favorite drink: tamarindo mojito. As I said in my Facebook post on our anniversary, I was brought up believing that gambling is wrong, but I won the lottery when I married Leland. It’s wonderful to spend 20 years with someone who “gets you”: One of our favorite movie quotes is from The Good Girl (2002), in which Justine (Jennifer Aniston) says, “After spending their whole lives never getting got, with one look they get each other completely.”

We made it into the resort newsletter!

Hence the "no swimming" signs...

This guy and his paramour were wandering around the pool area in search of snacks.

Upon our return, our friends surprised us with a cake for our anniversary!

Mother’s Day had special significance this year, not only because I want to be able to celebrate many more Mother’s Days with Lily and Leland, but also because May 14 was exactly 11 months since my diagnosis. Lily and Leland made it a special day, with body care products from Thistle Farms (a social enterprise that my friend Helena introduced me to) and jewelry that Lily made with sea glass we’ve found in our travels. We had brunch at Barrel 21 and then hiked around Colyer Lake, our first family hike since my hospitalizations.

fringed polygala (gaywings)

We came across this little guy. I hope s/he makes it to adulthood. 

sea glass earrings and necklace made by Lily

In short, I’m back to living a relatively normal life, other than my exercise limitations. We go to Pittsburgh again next week for a follow-up appointment, so I will post again soon.

*list of movies I’ve watched while biking:

• Against the Ice (based on an incredible, true story about a Danish expedition to prove that Greenland was one land mass, thus preventing the US from claiming part of it)
• Descendant (documentary about the Clotilda, the last known slave ship in the US, and the formerly enslaved people's descendants in Africatown)
• Fire of Love (documentary; unbelievable photos and video of volcanoes; I'm definitely not going to become a volcanologist anytime soon)
• The Giant (Basque film based on true story)
• Lovers Rock (meh. 68 minutes of watching people dance. Small Axe film #1, Mangrove, was far better)
• Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Oscar-nominated film from Tibet; light and heartwarming)
• Man on Wire (French documentary about man who walked between the Twin Towers on a high wire; confirms why I will never try high wire)
• Nobody Knows I’m Here (Chilean film; OK but wouldn't watch again)
• Pinocchio (I appreciated Del Toro's anti-fascist message) 
• Respect (fantastic music, Jennifer Hudson is amazing)
• Sir (Indian film; it had its moments, but overall too predictable & cliché)
• Tell Me Who I Am (documentary about twin brothers, one of whom had amnesia; incredibly unsettling and disturbing, but also very moving; raises profound ethical questions)
• Time (documentary about a woman's fight to free her incarcerated husband and keep their family together; moves pretty slow, but a sobering/inspiring story)