The Olympic Games have begun in Paris and I must say it was nice to block out some of the white noise of the world and enjoy the scenic sites of the city of light as Grace Brown negotiated tricky, wet Parisian roads to take Australia’s first gold medal of the games….on the official opening day!
Five years ago this week Linda and I were in Paris, staying at the Australian Embassy residence in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. A bit unforgettable really.
But time moves fast and we move on but it is sad to think we will never be back, at least not together.
It’s two years this weekend since Linda was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and was tentatively given two years to live…well, she is still here kicking goals and making the most of life! In that time her cancer has not progressed much, lucky for her and lucky for us although we are well aware the ever present disease can throw a curve ball at us any time. She is doing so well that her oncologist has pushed out his appointments with her from every three weeks to six weeks, proclaiming, “You aren’t sick enough for me to see every three weeks!”. Of course she still has to take her course of chemotherapy every three weeks (treatment will never stop!) but it’s a good sign that things are going as well as they possibly can.
The only real concern is that her cancer markers, which measure the spread of the disease in her blood, are drifting out, slowly but surely and although the registrars we occasionally see get a little jumpy about that, the old professor just raises an eyebrow and assures us there is nothing to worry about just yet.
So, despite all the worries of the world caused by Linda’s illness, she is no worse off than she was on this day two years ago. In spite of the odds stacked against her, she is still as well as she can possibly be.
As we all know, the world turns on a dime and nothing is guaranteed. Linda and I had planned to be in Europe sometime this year but her diagnosis two years ago put the kybosh on that. She has made me promise to go back again one day……for her……which I most certainly will do but it certainly won’t be the same. We have done so much the thought of moving on without her is somewhat unbearable. But I will survive the storm when it inevitably, unfortunately, comes.
So, the sights of Paris are making me a bit melancholy and at the same time filling my head with fabulous memories. Viva la France!
Strange Notations From a Laborious Life 