Summer summary -- and a sigh of relief that it's over

Now that school has started we can pretty well say that summer's over for most people. As for Harry and me, we entered a new season on August 30th when Harry went into the hospital for surgery to remove a cancerous area on his bowel.

We'd been waiting all summer for this, since June when a screening test showed cause for concern, then a colonoscopy, then a CT scan and then the appointment with the surgeon. It culminated on the morning of the surgery with a huge sigh of relief. We are told that the surgeon "got it all" and that "it hadn't spread" and these were the words we were hoping and praying for.

It's been a stressful summer waiting and hoping, although we've managed to keep busy with dinner invitations and small group gatherings on the patio (shown in the photo on the left). Plus Harry worked on several house carpentry projects: repairing a deck, installing new fencing, replacing the front steps, rebuilding a gate. These were good because they kept him busy and thinking.

Harry is doing really well recovering from the abdominal surgery.



You can see him here grinning even though he's wired up to bags and tubes.He's been home from the hospital for three days now and can move around and eat normally. He's made a remarkable recovery and now all that's needed is some time for him to get his strength back.

We had to cancel our planned trip to Sicily but we're hoping to take it in the spring if we can get our non-refundable tickets changed.

Today we are simply grateful to have this behind us and to be able to go forward in life with all its beauty and challenges. The take away from this is simple:  live each day with an open heart.