First off, I have missed you! Second, my apologies for taking some time off from blogging. I will tell you a little about why I have been MIA. I debated on whether or not to call this post, “On Matrimony and Mammograms” because in essence that is what has taken up the lion’s share of my time while not posting. Of course, that is not the complete story as there were holiday celebrations, tennis, pilates, and A LOT of great family time and time with friends.
Our oldest child, Carter, got married to her longtime (and precious) boyfriend in a joyous, teeny tiny backyard ceremony in mid-September and to pull off a Covid wedding safely and joyously was no small feat. We were full steam ahead for the originally scheduled wedding and reception when Covid protocols started tightening locally. We also got multiple phone calls asking, “Are you really gonna do this?” The idea that Covid would last for a full year or more seemed absurd when we began planning the wedding. But by the late July/beginning of August, it became apparent that we needed to pivot and pivot quickly. One of our dear friends/neighbors offered their spectacular backyard as the wedding & reception venue (I know, they are amazing!) and after that, we quickly put together a caterer, catering staff, and music. We were able to keep the same florist (but changed our plan with him). We had to rent absolutely everything and it was a pain but the weekend could not have been more perfect. And although we missed the celebration that we had planned and mourned the absence of grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends, the bride and groom were joyful and felt celebrated and loved so I think it was the best of all worlds…and p.s. No one got Covid!
But along with the joy of welcoming a new family member and an extremely fun celebration, I was battling the anxiety of a mammogram that had flagged a problem in mid-summer. Some of the angst sprung from having to wait 8 weeks for a biopsy and some of it originated from being unwilling to tell my grown children about it and spread the anxiety before the wedding. I did not want to worry anyone unnecessarily but boy! I stewed in it.
Not to bore you with details but I ended up with a breast cancer diagnosis that rocked our world for a bit. It is kinda like someone handing you an exploded pipe bomb and trying not to let anyone see that your world just caught on fire! I have regular mammograms and feel fortunate in this case that I do. I am so thankful for the doc who read my mammogram and “just didn’t like how a calcium deposit looked”. I am equally grateful to the biopsy doc who just happened to grab a few extra cells around the calcium deposit that were pre-cancerous (but had to be removed before it became cancerous). I am sincerely thankful for the skilled pathologists who waded through the excised flesh and found the cancer there. They caught it super dooper early and after 2 surgeries, they feel confident that I am cancer free. We are still debating on what, if any, preventative measures I will take now but feel confident that I will have a positive outcome. We are fortunate to have great doctors, friends, and a loving support network.
So the new year begins and with it, a rededication to the blog. Today I saw 2 friends who told me how much they enjoy the blog and my recipes. It struck me as amusing that I did not have any idea that they even LOOKED at the blog. So, please let me know if you are enjoying it and if you are, DEFINITELY tell a friend…or ten. And get them to subscribe and interact! Post about the recipes and let’s have some fun as a community! I look forward to sharing with you again!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Love you!
Robin, thank you for sharing your story. We need to be reminded how important annual mammograms are and praise God for your treatment and recovery. I enjoy your blog and have made many of your recipes. They do not disappoint. You are a blessing!
Pam, Thank you for taking the time to respond! And I really do hope that by telling my story people will be more inclined to get their mammograms every year! I hope you and yours are surviving and prospering during this weird period. Congrats on your son’t engagement…sooooooo exciting! Will it be in RVA?
Thank you for sharing your story and so happy you’re back at it. Go get’em wonder woman.!
Thank you Patsy! Love you lots!
Robin, I am so sorry that you had to go through so much worry and anxiety, but happy that you are now cancer free. I will be scheduling my mammogram today that is a couple of months past due thanks to your blog.. I so enjoy getting your dose and frequently make your recipes that we all enjoy. Take care and hope to see you on the courts in the near future!
Kristy
I love you, Robin. Thank you for sharing this information and letting us have a glimpse inside. I want to give you the biggest hug ever!
I love you right back! And I am gonna claim that big ole Daphne hug as soon as it is safe to do so!
Love you more than you’ll ever know! The blog emails are something I always look forward to reading and sharing! An extra special treat that I got to witness the amazing shortbread cookies being crafted! So much love to you xoxoxo!
Love you right back! And you saw! The cookies are easy!
Robin!❤️❤️❤️
I am so glad that you are cancer-free, what a journey for you! I am thinking of you and so grateful that you are healthy. Lots of love to you!
Thank you Lauren! I am very grateful to be healthy (although I never felt unhealthy). It has certainly been a learning experience…one I will be happy to share with anyone but hope I never have to! Sending hugs!
I enjoy reading your blog every time!!
Thank you so much! If there is ever anything you want to see, let me know and if I can, I will!
Robin,
So good to hear from you! I’m happy to hear you are on the mend and very fortunate for the early diagnosis. I would love to know who your healthcare workers are that took such great care of you? You never know when you or a friend needs a referral for good healthcare.
Take care and big hugs to you and all the Reify’s!
Love,
Kim
My second surgeon I highly recommend, Dr Ruth Felsen, out of Johnston Willis. I would NOT recommend my first surgeon. I get mammograms at Paradeis Institute who I think do a great job. And my radiation oncologist is Dr. David Randolph who is AWESOME. I would recommend him to anyone. Really took a thoughtful approach, did additional testing and defined how radiation could and could not help. He also was so helpful with interpreting the pathology reports. Really great and SMART guy!
Robin, I’m so sorry you had to deal with the stress of the cancer while pulling off a COVID wedding. That makes my head spin, just thinking about it all. I’m so glad that you are cancer-free, and I sure hope that any preventative treatments are not awful. On the other hand, I’m glad the wedding went so well. I still chuckle over your text with the comment that the wedding had 9 lives. Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to relax at some point!
I like your recipes.
Hi Martha! Thanks for your sweet note! The wedding DID have 9 lives…at least! I am trying to schedule in some downtime and work on being kind to myself. I guess it is something we can all work on. Glad you are liking the recipes. I love getting recipes from friends–having someone else weed out the bad ones is nice! I hope you are well. Hope to see you soon! R
So strange, I missed this post earlier in the week, but for some reason had you on my mind, and then POW I read this! So sorry Robin. Such stress to go through on top of everything else. But great news and so glad you got it all taken care of! I have made several of your recipes and love them! You have always been a great cook and I’m so impressed you feed such a large crew on a regular basis! Question, is there an easy way to print out your recipes? I”m a little old school on how I keep mine.
Take care and let’s play tennis soon!
Hey Bonnie! I miss seeing you! And I am so glad the recipes have been a success in your house.The next time I update my blog website I am going to have to put in a “print” feature and a “pin” feature as that is feedback I have gotten from multiple folks. As of now, if I need to print one out for some reason, I just print the page, but that uses a lot of ink with the picture. I will ask the web developer if there is an easier way without re-doing the whole shabang! Hugs to Tom and let’s play soon! R