Monday in Seattle!

Day number 3 is in the books! I think I got too excited on our outing yesterday. I didn’t take a nap and I think I might have pushed myself just a little too much. I took an extra long nap this afternoon and just lounged around today.

My mom and I did venture downstairs to do some laundry. There was another lady washing her clothes as well. The three of us got to talking and she is from Hawaii. Her son has been in the hospital since November, he is in need of a stem cell transplant but he isn’t responding to the chemo treatments and This is his third round. Hearing her situation makes me realize just how lucky I am. In kind of a crazy way it’s a little reassuring you aren’t the only one calling this hotel “home” either. Everyone has a story to tell! I hope we meet other UW patients, I really enjoyed visiting with this lady.

My oh my I haven’t had the best track record checking my blood sugar level at dinner time, ha ha. Two nights ago we ran out of test strips, so Kerry had to go on a hunt to find some. He found the nearest Walgreens and came back with an all new everything. Then tonight I opened a new bottle of test strips, well long story short they are the wrong brand. I thought “oh no, now what?” We called Bartell’s which is a local drug store about 4 blocks away. They had the strips we needed, so we caught a cab and away we went. We would have walked but it was dark and you never know. We paid the cab driver, he said he would wait for us and take us back to our hotel. Well I guess he got another call, because when we came out he was gone. We both looked at each other and said “well we better start walking!” We both got our exercise for the day! I did great! Wasn’t short of breathe, didn’t cough and I walked up hill too! I was worried about walking because it is cold outside, and before transplant cold weather and my old lungs didn’t get along. Cold weather made my breathing worse, not anymore! Plus the walk felt good! We made it back to our room safe and sound, checked blood sugar level and everything is good! Now we are both relaxing on the couch watching The Voice. Love that show, so glad it’s back on!!

I have received some great questions so far! Love hearing from you guys! I have been asked several times if I will eventually return to the classroom. I would love to say yes, but I have to be careful being around large groups of people, especially kids since we all know they love to share their germs! Right now my goal is to at some point volunteer in classrooms. I will have to wear a mask when I visit schools. Don’t get me wrong I would love to find a full time teaching job, but I don’t want to do anything the will damage or hurt my new lungs. So if a lady shows up in your classroom wearing a funny mask, it’s just me! But I sure do miss teaching. I still have a long road to go before I will be cleared to visits schools, travel or do anything. I don’t want to jeopardize this gift I have been given.

Erica P wants to know what store I will go to buy a “smokin hot pair of shoes” and a cute purse. You do realize how many stores there are in Seattle? This is an incredibly tough question! A girl can never have enough “smokin” hot shoes, and cute handbags! I having a feeling Nordstorms Rack is calling my name!! Tory Burch, Kate Spade or even Coach! Ha ha

Another great question was “what’s the first place I plan to visit?” When I am cleared to travel I am jumping on a plane headed for Rochester, New Hampshire to visit my sista Emily! The day will come and I cannot wait to return the favor and visit her for once! I hope she’s ready for me to stay for awhile! Ha ha.

Alright I have to be at diabetes clinic early tomorrow morning, so I better head for bed. Hope everyone had a great Monday!

Until next time……….

~Jen~
“Just Breathe”