Refreshing Little Pauses

Sometimes we are stopped and unexpectedly our rush to complete a task, get to our destination or carry out our daily routine is thrown off course.    It might only be a matter of a very few short moments; in this case 3 minutes, but we are not pleased and rather impatient about it despite it's briefness!
It is not an unusual occurrence but when it presents itself in an unusual manner it is at first most annoying to us.     In this instance though I was not at all annoyed since it has become "usual" I have chosen rather to embrace it.

For several months as we travel east of Port Hope or travel west to Port Hope on highway 2 we have encountered a delay at the Hunco Farm bridge presently and still under construction.   I'll admit in coming to the bridge the first couple of encounters during this transition I found the delay somewhat inconvenient and time stealing, but after a number of travels back and forth not so much.  Now I rather look forward to and enjoy the delay or shall I say "Pause", a most pleasant pause and with camera in hand it is opportunity to embrace and enjoy!    I've taken several photos almost always as I head west returning home from points east.    I rather enjoy the scenery/backdrop from that vantage point.   Yesterday as we were stopped at the light I couldn't help but notice the person in line behind me in traffic produced a newspaper and embraced the chance to catch up on the news while stopped for those 3 minutes.  

This bridge reconstruction has for some of us become a welcome pause in our day, much in my mind like those at say Glenora; near Picton, waiting their turn to board the ferry.   The Glenora ferry is but a 2 minute ride across but those two minutes afford a calm reprieve from ones possibly demanding day and some great photo opps.

These little pauses we come to are a lesson in ones outlook in life ...grumble and perhaps be agitatedly impatient in what presents itself or embrace the positive in it and go happily on with a new and refreshed outlook!
Pause.
 

How much wood?...today's giggle!

I was heading out to Gilmer's and called up to my daughter, "I'm going out to get some wood!", I hear , "Bahahaha, o.k!"!

   :D

When you laugh like that!!!

We've all heard it said, "laughter is the best medicine" and I'm hoping each and every one of you will have experienced just that!     Not that laughter will mend bones, or cure the common cold; though it may induce a coughing fit,  nor will it cure cancer or other diseases, but it can help lift ones spirit and guide ones outlook in dealing with just such ills.

Haven't we all been there before, feeling so ill and completely drained of all our energy, or just so down, feeling the world is a massive weight of woe upon our shoulders?     When we have fallen into such depths of blues or are struggling so we are often pulled from it by surprise.   It often comes in the form of a caring friend or a loved one who knows us perhaps even better than we know ourselves and manages catching us off guard in saying something most ridiculous but maintaining a straight face until we catch it and share the realization of the humour shared!    Oh and when it happens you and the laughter inducing companion feel the weight lifted, both your faces light up, laughter fills the air and your bellies hurt from said laughter and maybe you even let out a snort or two!    While you haven't been cured, the situation remains or it's only a brief reprieve, it's equal to the most effective prescription ever written!    Laughter is good, it feels good and IS good for you!  
The following from the Mayo Clinic...
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

We should take laughter more seriously, because it has much to offer us in our well being.   Almost three years ago when diagnosed with cancer, laughter was a very necessary daily dose as important as and even more important than my daily dose of vitamins perhaps!

Go on LOL, a.k.a laugh out loud, we love it when you laugh like that and contagious laughter is the best kind!

The Big Reveal

Everything off!

With a diagnosis of Melanoma it doesn't take long to realize just how important it is to be "checked out", scanned, looked at  from head to toe and up close!     You have to pay attention to your skin and any changes that may have or may be taking place.   I'll admit, as I have again and again to the dermatologist, the surgeon, the oncologist and my family doctor that in all of this "checking" and the necessity of doing so I can at times be just a tad paranoid with the possibility of finding something!

In the process of all tests and also treatment there was the photo session in making note of specific skin markings/spots to be recorded and viewed at later visits with the dermatologist in comparing for any changes as time rolls on, but even then one is permitted the coverage allowance of bra and panties and you are relieved for that allowance.

In my Derm's office it takes a very short time with first the assistant; who also asks a few questions,  and then with Dr. G; my dermatologist, to do a thorough going over.   Drum roll please ...and then they concur, everything seems to be fine   Yay, one step closer to the that five year NED marker; no evidence of disease.    As of next June I will be three years NED!

 Driving home I count my blessings once again and even the appointment card reads rather hopeful with the date of the next visit in May, springtime.

Baring it all is just one more step in saving my life from Melanoma, and that's just how I roll now!