CORRESPONDENCE

4 January 2021

It was a busy weekend.  I have been really lax in writing pen pal letters in the month of December and had a stack of them to answer, so spent a good part of the week end writing letters.  My letters are generally 3-4 pages long so they take a bit of time to write.

I was encouraged by the fact that I'd just received some new stationery I'd ordered.  The last thing in the world I need is stationery -- I have lots and I make stationery many times (especiallly during holidays), but someone mentioned the Image Shop, which I checked out.  I loved a lot of their designs, especially this Chihuahua.  I ordered two packs of 25 pages of two designs and knew that I would eventually go back and order some more (two days later, 3 more packages!)

I'm loving having new stationery to write on. 

I wrote to several pen pals, my mother, some Compassion kids, and my Chemo Angel. 

Earlier this year I found out about Chemo Angels.

The Chemo Angels program offers support to those who find themselves in the most challenging situation of their lives – battling a cancer diagnosis and undergoing IV chemotherapy or intensive immunotherapy treatment. 

     Our volunteers support their “buddy” throughout their journey with cards, uplifting messages, supportive words and lots of positive energy. The encouragement our Angels provide helps give patients the comfort and confidence of knowing they are not alone in their fight. 

     The goal of Chemo Angels is to help fuel a positive attitude and aid in the road to recovery. Volunteers find that providing emotional support is a most rewarding experience.

My "angel" is 59, a diabetic, and suffering from Invasive ductile carcinoma, stage 1b.  I started writing to her in June and have sent her two "things" (letters, post cards, cards, little gifts) a week.  It is not required that the angel write back, so I have not heard from her, except after I sent a gift certificate from Amazon for Christmas.  But she has now completed her chemotherapy treatment, so I am no longer her Angel.  I sent her a good bye message, but will probably also send her a birthday gift/card for her birthday, which is the day after mine.

Ned and Marta are home from Lake Tahoe.  They got home Saturday night, after stopping for dinner on the way.  They went upstairs to unpack and we didn't really see them.  Then on Sunday, Ned spent the day recording his radio show out in the garage, so it was not until last night that we actually saw them after their week away.

I have to admit it was very nice to have chit chat around the dinner table again.  And then around midnight, when I was dozing off in my recliner, Ned and Bouncer came down so Bouncer could go outside and pee.  I told Ned it was nice to see him. I had missed those late night pee trips while they were away.

Today it is a new day and the current president has just committed a crime, repeatedly urging Georgia's Secretary of State to alter the outcome of the presidential vote in the state..  I can hardly wait until he is officially out of office and we see if anybody is going to hold him to account for all the illegal things he has done, especially since the election.