April 8, 2011

"CELEBRATE THE HURDLES THAT YOU OVERCOME IN YOUR LIFETIME!"

Today, my husband is cancer-FREE for one year! One year ago today, I was sitting with my son and three of my husband's siblings in the surgical waiting room at the Hershey Medical Center stressed out of my mind not knowing what the outcome of my husband's major surgery was going to be. His surgery was more dangerous than open heart surgery, plus I had the memory of my Dad passing away on this day 12 years earlier. Imagine having your husband or any close family member having major surgery on the anniversary of another loved one's death. This day, one year ago, was the hardest, most stressful day of my life. However, one year later, we are celebrating my husband being cancer-FREE for ONE whole year! This is reason to CELEBRATE!

Tonight I will be taking my husband and son out to eat to celebrate this HUGE accomplishment. My husband won his battle with cancer, and my goal is to honor him for all the hard work that he did on his own. We will be going to "steak night." Have you ever watched the tv show, Scrubs? There is a scene in one of the episodes where Turk and J.D. are going to "steak night," and they sing a little song that goes something like this, "We're going to steak night. We're going to eat it right. We're going to steak night." This is the song that my family is singing today.

Learn to celebrate the major hurdles that you overcome within your lifetime! They might not be as huge as beating cancer, but celebrate everything that means something to you. I remember when I graduated from college, and I earned my Associates Degree; my boss made a huge deal about it and treated our department to bagels for breakfast in celebration of my accomplishment. To me, it was no big deal, but to her it was very important. Learn to celebrate what you and your loved ones accomplish! Make a big to-do about it!