During isolation I’ve done a lot of things to pass the time. I have completed and sent to the finisher more needlepoint projects than I can count, learned to cook in an Instant Pot, watched videos, ordered supplies, and learned to re-cane an antique chair seat, reorganized my kitchen pantry a la The Home Edit, and went …
Author Archives: tsconlay
Elevator Snippets
Elevator etiquette has certainly changed since COVID. Well, at least it has at all the places I go—Rotary House and MDA. Before, squeezing one more person on a cramped, full elevator was almost like a game of Tetris. Now, when the doors open, if there is just one person on the elevator I ask if …
Pink and Sparkly
October is breast cancer awareness month and my Pinterest feed has turned pink and sparkly. Lots of slogans, lots of reminders, lots of pink ribbons. The popularity around breast cancer is a good thing. It means more women are aware of their risk and take getting an annual mammogram and self-exams seriously. It also translates …
Wrestling a Bear
It takes a lot of energy to wrestle with a bear. Since February every ounce of energy I’ve had has been used fighting my bear—triple negative breast cancer. It has consumed my mental and physical energy and nearly every minute of my time. Countless hours have been spent researching just how vicious my particular bear …
Answered Prayers
To borrow a bit from Dickens, this past week has been “the best of times, it was the worst of times.” I have been on an emotional roller coaster, and unfortunately, I’ve brought my family along for the ride. I know for many people, chemotherapy is incredibly debilitating and hard, but I tolerated it pretty …
Topsy Turvy World
This has been one crazy year. Nothing feels “normal” any more. Up is down and down is up. Life feels unsettled and uncomfortable. The activities that formed the rhythm of my life have been changed—no trips to the Farmer’s Market with Allie in Clovis, no walks to the park with Delphine and Fritz, no lunches …
Come Heck or High Water
I had it all planned out. I had everything prepared. I had thought through every wrinkle and made a contingency plan for every possibility. Well, nearly every possibility. I never imagined Laura would roar through Natchitoches as a category 2 hurricane leaving downed trees and power lines just four days before surgery. This whole year …
Hotel Kunste
In 2007 I was excited as we planned for our trip to Kenya. Gary had been to Kenya in 2005, and he and Allie had been to Chile in 2006, but this would be our first mission trip as a family. By the time we boarded the plane our bags were filled with supplies to …
Expectations
For the past twelve very long weeks, my Fridays have been spent with blood draws, chemotherapy infusions, and monitoring, followed by a four-hour drive home from Houston on curvy, hilly, two lane roads. But not this week. This past Friday morning I woke up in my own bed, drank my coffee, walked three miles in …
Chemo Finito
When my cancer saga began in February, on our first trip to Houston I told Gary and Madison that no matter what happened, no matter how serious the situation seemed to be, we were going to have FUN! That week, between appointments, we shopped at Rice Village, ate out at some wonderful restaurants, enjoyed Herrman …
Construction Zone
I’ve watched a lot of HGTV since I’ve been in isolation. Property Brothers, House Hunters Renovation, Flip or Flop and Beachfront Bargain Hunt have given me lots of ideas for projects to do around the house after cancer and life returns to “normal.” I’m sure Gary is thrilled. My latest binge is a show called Good Bones with a mother-daughter duo …
Sowing and Reaping
It takes a lot of work to grow watermelons. Even though they are my favorite fruit, until this summer, I’ve never tried to grow my own. Well, I’ve still never tried to grow my own—growing watermelons was Madison’s project. And unlike the Shake and Bake commercials from the 1970s I can’t even say, “And I …
Waiting
When my cancer was diagnosed in February, I knew treatment would take time. But in my mind, I thought we would do a little chemo, have a little surgery, and be ready to go on vacation by the end of summer. After talking with the doctors I realized my timetable was a little off. Well, …
Danger, Will Robinson
Since the last week of February my world has been shrunk down to our ten little acres. There are no quick trips to the store, carefree lunches with Madison at Atwood’s, or even getting together with friends for Bible study. I am here with Argos, who never lets me leave his sight. Gary goes out …
An Encouraging Word
We all have favorite Scriptures—ones that speak to us, ones that have brought us comfort, or have given us wisdom and direction when we needed it most. Sometimes the verse is one that we learned as a child in Sunday School, while some are from lessons learned in the storms and valleys of life. Whatever …
Mile Markers
Gary and I have driven across the country from Louisiana to California twice. The first time was when we helped Allie move to Clovis. On that trip, Gary got the nick-name “Leadfoot McUhaul” for his driving style through the mountains. The second time was a trip he and I made to deliver the Tahoe to …
Bruised, Battered & Smelling Like Smoke
There is no doubt about it, cancer is ugly. We try to dress it up with pink ribbons and sparkles but the ugliness still shows through. Outwardly cancer and the required treatment changes the way you look so radically that when you pass by the mirror you barely recognize yourself. Chemotherapy makes your fingernails ugly …
Giving It A Rest
Taking it easy and slowing down don’t come naturally to me. I am rarely still and tend to always be on the move from one activity to the next throughout my day. Multi-tasking is my middle name—even when Gary and I watch a movie in the evening I am always working on a needlepoint project …
The Thief of Joy
A friend once shared a profound truth with me: comparison is the thief of joy. Think about that and let it sink in for a minute. I’m sure we’ve all seen a child who is perfectly happy with their favorite toy—it’s the best! This toy brings them such joy each day they can’t wait to …
Eating an Elephant
I am a planner, organizer, and strategist, so give me a good to-do list and I’m in my comfort zone. When this journey first began I asked my oncologist what I could do to help heal my body and he told me three things: keep a positive attitude, eat a healthy diet, and make sure …
Here I Come to Save the Day!
If you know me at all, you know I do not wait well. And this past week was a week of waiting. A long week of waiting. I had appointments scheduled for Friday to begin the new immunotherapy and chemo regimen but they were tentative, dependent upon receiving insurance approval. I tried to be patient, …
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
After nearly 36 years of marriage I’m starting to think like my husband. If you’ve ever been in one of Gary’s Sunday School classes or listened to him teach, you know whatever the situation, he has a movie clip or song lyric to go along with it to illustrate his point. His knowledge is encyclopedic. …
Creativity
I read a definition of creativity that I really liked this week: “Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions.” Creative people just see the …
You Aren’t the Boss of Me!
If you are a parent, at some point you have probably heard the words “You aren’t the boss of me!” escaping from the lips of one or more of your children. In my case, it was usually accompanied with hands on the hips and a defiant jut to the chin. Testing limits is part of …
Rhythm
Life with cancer has fallen into a rhythm. There is an ebb and flow to our days that is comforting, routine, normal. I am the first one up in the mornings and I sit in my chair with a cup of coffee and pray, read and usually do some journaling. It is peaceful with the …
Lion
At a conference several years ago, Madison and I took a personality test—the Lion, Otter, Beaver, Golden Retriever one. When I tallied my score, every question I answered was squarely in the Lion column. Madison laughed and said, “I could have told you that before we took the test!” I was so disappointed—I wanted to …
Making Groceries
If you know Gary, you know that just about his favorite thing in the world is going to the grocery store. He can turn a quick trip for a couple of necessities into an afternoon of socializing, discovering obscure salsa varieties, and always coming home with a new flavor of ice cream. He has said …
Roadblocks
The past week was an incredibly stressful week to say the least. When the governor of Texas last Sunday announced the travel restrictions for anyone traveling from anywhere in Louisiana I knew that could be a problem and cause a delay of my chemo scheduled for April 3. The governor’s executive order stated anyone traveling …
A Change of Plans
One of the most difficult consequences of my cancer diagnosis to swallow was the fact I was going to lose my hair. I know that in the big scheme of things, it isjust hair, it will grow back, and it shouldn’t be that big a deal when battling a disease that if left untreated could be …
The Monster Under the Bed
With the coronavirus quarantine it’s a good thing I love to read and love a good movie or Netflix series. I’ve never really been a chick-flick kind of girl—I prefer shoot-em-ups, especially if they involve the military or spies. Movies like American Sniper, Lone Survivor, Tears of the Sun, Togo and Secretariat are some of my favorites. I’m fascinated …
Tested
During our latest visit to Kenya in March, 2019, our group hosted a conference for almost a hundred women from different churches in the Eldoret area. After much prayer, discussion and planning, Molly and I chose to teach on spiritual warfare and the armor of God. In Ephesians 6:12 Paul tells us, “For we are …
Joy > My Circumstances
In 2019 as I was looking forward to the new year and new decade, the word “Joy” kept popping into my mind. Anticipating the coming months, with a new grandson to be born in February, and Allie and Josh’s wedding in September, I could see a year filled with family, celebration, and yes, joy. It …
Details
The scriptures that speak about God’s care for me have always been comforting in stressful times. Knowing that God cares about my situation, that He has a plan and a purpose for my life, and that everything that happens can be used for my good has helped sustain me during dark times. Life hasn’t always …
First Thoughts…
I have cancer and it stinks. In my mind I had 2020 mapped out and it was going to be full of fun things, exciting things, new adventures. And none of these fun and exciting adventures involved frequent trips to Houston, surgery, chemo, and the stress and emotional toll cancer has brought with it. But …
T.S.CONLAY 