Hi Everyone. It has occurred to me that I never wound this journal up. Maybe I have been too busy living life. I just want to thank you all for being there when I really needed you. 

Right now, the scans are clear and I am finished with chemo. I am seeing my Oncologist in three months. Miraculously enough, I made it though again. 

Mobility continues to be an issue, and this may be my new reality. But I am living with it. I’m getting around in my house just fine. Out in the world, I use a walker. I suspect the neuropathy and pain in my legs and the pain in my back may be a permanent condition, but I can walk, I can drive and I can play guitar sitting down. 

The real news is that I’m retiring. It is becoming real to me. Bill and I are figuring out what that means. Mostly it means that I get to do the things I love: read, play with CubiZm, hang out with Bill. We have both been vaccinated so we are getting out some. The usual things, food shopping, eating outdoors in restaurant, feel so special to me now. I love sitting on a comfortable chair in the front of my house, reading, smelling the honeysuckle, listening to the birds and watching the kids on the street ride by on their bicycles. I will never take my life for granted. Next weekend, I am hosting an open house for my Masterman co-workers, so I can say some proper goodbyes and thank yous. The exciting action news is that my backyard is going to be a venue this summer. This Saturday, we will be hosting a PASA show (FAWM showcase), and on July 10, we will be hosting our first live CubiZm show! This year has been hellish in many ways, but I feel like I learned so much about people. People are wonderful. You all have really come through for me. You have fed me. You have kept me in books. You have listened to me and been there for me when I needed to talk.  YOU COVERED MY SONGS!!!!!!!  I am not taking the cards down, just yet.They remind me that you are with me. My hair is coming in gray, but it may suddenly go Billy Idol white, or a bright color. I am looking for a really good tattoo artist, if anyone knows someone. That cockroach inside of me, who has pulled me through again, deserves a permanent spot on my arm. 

    I love you, my friends, and am happy that our paths will be crossing, above ground, every chance that I get.

Heidi