Hats, Scarves, and Friends

Three of my greatest blessings this week are hats, scarves and friends. Thanks to all three, today has been a good day and I'm not too worried about tomorrow. Last week, my friends in our ward threw a Hat & Scarf party for me. It was great fun to visit with everyone and laugh together. Bob McCann wrote me a poem, read by Jeff Smith, to remind me that Bald is Beautiful (they feel they are more knowledgeable on the subject than the rest of us!). Pat Nelson and Cathie McCann shared a few lines to encourage me about how fun wearing hats will be. A special hat was created with things that remind my friends of me - garden seeds and sewing items were a common theme (I wonder why?). Many brought hats and scarves to keep me warm this winter. There were even beautiful scarves from as far away as Italy and Japan! Sam was my hat model and looked cute in all of them! Judy encouraged me to try some on and we decided hats wouldn't be so bad after all. There was even a little extra cash to go shopping and that has been fun as well. Thank you! Just to give you a sampling, Sam and Jeremy and I tried on a few hats so you could get the idea for upcoming fashions.

On Sunday, Kristen (my niece), Greg and family came over for dinner. We let Anna try on a few hats as well. Here is Anna in a nice tea party style hat and Sam in my wig. Then Anna came up with her own wonderful combo!

I still had hair on Monday morning and was feeling well, so I went to the gym. It felt good to work out, but I spent half the time worrying about how self-conscious I would be the next time with no hair and a hat. I kept remembering a woman I had seen at the gym this fall - no hair either, but she was there getting a workout. And then there's the oncologist who told me I have to get some exercise in. It's the best way to make it through these treatments. By Monday night, my head was itching and I really just wanted to run a brush through my hair. It felt so good! It also created a big pile of hair in the sink. Each stroke meant more in the sink and less on my head. Believing that the worst was inevitable, I asked Rob if he could shave it off for me. Somehow we made it through. It was nice to be watching "While You Were Sleeping" instead of the mirror like you do at the salon. A little 'leaning' always makes things better. When I finally was brave enough to look in the mirror, I wondered who it was staring back at me and where in the world I had gone off to. Thankfully, I have a few hats on hand. After I got my head dressed again, I could see myself looking back at me in the mirror. Thank you for my hats!

Tuesday turned out to be a perfect first day for being bald. I fit in a trip to Cabelas. Everyone there treated me just as normal as could be. Yeah! One down. Then I went to a "Look Good, Feel Better" class sponsored by the American Cancer Society. I got to sit and put on makeup with a small group of women who were also going through chemo treatments for cancer. It was a nice chance to visit and hear other stories of courage and hope.

Then Tuesday night we had a wonderful Relief Society Enrichment meeting at church. All my dear sisters were so kind and made me feel so at ease! They are truly my best fit for a support group. We all go through challenges in life - they just come to each of us in different ways. Some challenges come loudly, like cancer. Others come quietly and stay in our hearts and are only shared with those we are very close to. But, when we have time together as sisters, it lifts us and strengthens us for all those challenges. It makes each of our lives better and more beautiful. I love the smiles of my strong sisters - good women who strengthen me.

At the end of our evening a small group of us sang Silent Night. Each of those dear sisters put on a hat so I wouldn't be alone. What a great gift of love. I hope we each can find silent moments to find peace. I hope we can find holy moments and know what shape our love should take as we share it with others.

Many thanks to each one of you, my friends, for my hats, and my scarves and all your love!