Spring arrived early this year, welcomed by all. It came at the beginning of April, melted small amounts of winter snow, and stayed. We have a bonus month of spring this year.

Yesterday was a glorious spring day. The temperatures pushed past 20° and the warm sunshine brought smiles to everyone’s faces. In neighborhoods all around the city gardeners tilled soil, landscapers prepared lawns, and the animal kingdom came out from hiding to partake in the warmth of the spring day.

There is energy in the air that comes with the arrival of spring. Yet there is also stillness.

Squirrels scamper and scurry on fence tops and tree branches. Bugs buzz. Trees in bud eagerly await the first spring rain to explode open their leaves announcing their presence on prairie landscapes. Crickets chatter. Birds chirp and sing in the distance. Feathered mates sing love songs to one another as they build their family nests.

Smells of pollen punctuate the spring air. Sunshine peeks through the bright blue sky, sprinkled amidst the cotton balls of dancing clouds. Looking downward, tender shoots of grass fight against yellowed winterkilled lawns to join with the forces of nature to bring in a new season.

Best of all, Manitoba mosquitoes haven’t yet surrounded us with their presence—but they will very soon!

It’s the best time of year to sit outside on a patio to enjoy the sleepy earth of winter waking up to launch spring in its place. Nature’s colors and voices round out your sensory experiences. It’s the kind of day you dream about experiencing when its -30° with howling winds in January.

Late last summer, we decided it was time to remodel our back yard in anticipation of our daughter’s wedding this August and the social activities that come with nuptials. A cobblestone wrap-around patio replaced a poured concrete slab. There is a coziness presented with many opportunities to finally enjoy our backyard without its former ugly clutter.

One weekend last August, I happened to come across an end of season sale at a local greenhouse. They were clearing out patio furniture with major discounts. The ideal patio table, six chairs and an umbrella were waiting to be claimed by a happy owner. It was meant to be. My name was on it. Impulsively, I bought the set knowing we would want one this year. We enjoyed a few barbecued meals around that table as a family before we put it away last fall waiting to be used again this year.

Life has a way of prioritizing things for us in ways we don’t expect. There is a well- known expression that says: “Man plans, God laughs.” We planned to use this set for backyard entertaining. God had a different plan.

The patio set will now be my relaxation anchor in living with cancer and reducing stress to get better. Who would have thought that a major overhaul of our back yard last fall and the purchase of a patio set would bring simple pleasures and joy?



A Place of Rest and Recovery

After the long hours in emergency a couple of days earlier, my energy levels increased enough yesterday to be able to sit outside on the patio and enjoy a cup of tea with hubby who is off this week taking care of me while I recuperate.

A cup of tea has a way of soothing a weary soul at anytime. Our household enjoys a collection of teas that fill our kitchen and thirst, and calms us at the end of each day.

The patio set is going to become my best “non-human” friend in this cancer journey. It gives me a reason to go outside and rest in comfort. It enables me to discard my worries for a short while as I surround myself with sunshine and nature.

It will be a place of rest and recovery. It will be a place of visits with family and friends. Coffee chats and teatime tales be warmly welcomed here. Fortunately, family and friends have left me with a well-stocked supply of tea to enjoy!

My husband embraced the chance to sit at the patio and welcomed the spring day as much as I, taking a break from running the household. He mused saying, “this is the kind of day you keep promising yourself that you should take time to enjoy, but you put it off to do other things instead. I’ll get to it, we say to ourselves, but we don’t.”


Hitting the “Reset” Button of Life

My husband’s philosophy on living with cancer in our family pretty much sums up how it is. “Cancer makes you hit the reset button on life,” he said as he sipped his cup of tea on the patio. “It gives you a second chance on life and how to live,” he said.

He’s right.

Cancer has a way of instantly changing what we value in life and how we want to spend our time. You learn very quickly what matters and what you need to let go of. As a cancer patient you want to stay positive because it helps in managing your life-threatening disease. But in the back of your mind, you learn to live with it daily as you don’t know how much time you have left to spend with loved ones. Cancer is a visitor that doesn’t completely leave your thoughts—ever.

I’m told by cancer survivors who are now in remission, that its just part of living a “new normal” in your life. It’s also probably why us cancer patients are always busy. A friend of mine whose husband has survived prostate cancer says, “cancer people always have projects.”

I can identify. You feel like you are racing against the countdown clock. There are so many things you have thought about that you that you would like to do with your life. Cancer shortens the time in which you can.


The reset button reminds me of how fragile life is and how I have taken so much for granted. I am thankful for this fresh start in my second life. The blessings of the reset button are abundant.

The Warrior Women of the Amazon Tribe, the Action Heroes and others are my inspiration in this fight against cancer. I live daily, with Strength, Courage, and Determination.