Yeah! We're Done with High School!

Here is our last graduate on her happy day. She finally feels all grown up and ready to take on the world. The ceremony was amazingly short in a facility that was large enough and had great air conditioning. The weather even cooperated by not raining during the picture taking (well, not much) and by being cool enough to stand being outside.

Chorus Awards Banquet

Last night we attended the Chorus Awards Banquet where Summer got a boatload of awards and recognitions. Here she is with a group of her chorus friends.

These are all really nice girls as well as really talented musicians. Here she is receiving her certificate for participating in the All-Virginia Senior Honors Choir. Only two students from her school were chosen.

Here she is receiving her certificate for participating in the All-Virginia Choir. Only four students from her school were chosen.

Here she is performing her second senior solo this week. (The first one was Tuesday night at the Spring Concert and she accompanied herself on the piano for that one.)

She lettered and got a pin in Chorus this year and she also received the "Sunniest Smile" award from the seniors and the "Positive Impact" award from her choir director. Chorus has been a wonderful experience for Summer both in New Mexico and here. She has made her closest friends there and has developed a talent way beyond her years.

Adam's Comic

Adam created the cartoon above in Paint. He has learned to master that program.

My Journey Back to Hair--if you're interested

Lot's of wonderful friends and family have been kind enough to call or write frequently to ask how I'm feeling and what are the side effects of my treatments and all kinds of thoughtful, compassionate questions. I have to say that I feel like I was prepared for the fatigue and nausea that chemo brings, the physical therapy required after surgery and (I hope, as it's still in the future) the fatigue that comes with radiation.

Although I was told I would lose my hair, however, I don't think I was prepared for the emotional impact. I had not realized how emotionally attached to my hair I was and when it fell out I was devastated. I also probably scarred poor Summer for life since she has had to make this journey with me. She's the one who helped me shop for wigs online; she's the one who shaved my head for me; she's the one who helped me find a good wig in a local store and she's the one who had to feel my head every day to see if I really was getting any hair back. Adam still (after five months) can't look at me if I don't have on a hat or a wig and Mario is not interested in my hair loss since he knows it will grow back. Maybe it takes another woman to feel the impact.

I started panicking about five weeks after chemo when I still did not have one hair anywhere on my head and I started trying to find somewhere that would tell me when I could expect to see hair. There are a lot of YouTube slide shows made by women in my situation but none of them included dates so I decided to begin to document my hair loss and regrowth.

If you're interested, I have created a separate blog (From Dandelion to Rapunzel) for this so you don't have to read about it unless you want to. The link is to the right. (By the way, as I'm sure you know, that is not my picture at the top. I could never bring myself to take a picture of me completely bald. Maybe I'm more like Adam than I know.)

Seminary Graduate

Summer and her most recent teacher, Brother Allen

Last night Summer graduated from Seminary. We are so proud of our little night owl for her dedication and self-mastery in achieving this not-insignificant goal. She, along with three others, was asked to speak and she gave a wonderful talk about a few of the things she has learned in Seminary and how it has helped her testimony grow. I even made her a cake to celebrate (we won't talk about my disastrous attempt at this last week when Seminary actually ended...). That's pink frosting by the way. The lighting looks bad. Congratulations, Summer!