a day to be thankful.

friends, i hope you all enjoyed a cozy day filled with much to be thankful for. i know my cup runneth over, and this has been a perfect week and month to focus on my blessings.

first, i want to thank you with big hugs for all your prayers, thoughts, and good vibes you have sent my way for my thyroid surgery. i feel great. i expected to feel good, considering i had a day surgery, and knew my healing time wouldn’t be too long. however, i had no idea i would feel SO GOOD. Plus, i was so well-cared for during the few days i needed extra rest. my family, friends, and neighbors are angels. i had lots of extra snuggles and love from my family. we had so many meals brought in to us for lunch, and dinners. it is an amazingly overwhelming feeling to be so loved.

my mom came to visit about a week before i had surgery and stayed a few days after to help. while she was here, we drove over to the town of sudbury one day to get a peek at the house where mary took her little lamb to school. did you even know this really existed? it’s so cute.

my mom is a loyal utah jazz fan. after she arrived at our home, the jazz played at 11pm one night because of eastern time + tv schedules when it was airing, and she stayed up till 2am to watch the entire game! {i’d like to say loyalty to sports teams runs in the family, but this is MY mom, and my husband is the carrier of this characteristic, not me. however, with this combination – our kids might be super-sports-enthusiasts one day! eeegads.}

a few days later, we realized the utah jazz were going to be in Boston! so we surprised her with tickets to the game! it was so fun. do you like surprises? {i’m not such a fan, but i LOVE giving people surprises! also: not sure why we’re fuzzy below…}

then it was time for surgery. the best part, extra kiddos in our bed to hang-out with me afterwards…

my thanksgiving began on tuesday evening of this week when our good friends scott & susan bland + their three kiddos arrived in boston from utah. they are here through this weekend, and it’s been so great to have our home full of people we love.

due to our plans for the week, i cooked dinner on tuesday. we had plans to spend today in plimouth, and i still wanted to have a traditional, home-cooked meal by me, in my home…

is there anything better than a home that smells like thanksgiving dinner + a real fire burning in the fireplace? ahhh, the rich goodness but simple joys in life.

on wednesday morning, my doctor called with the pathology results. my thyroid nodule was indeed malignant. there are two types of thyroid cancer, and i have follicular variant of papillary thyroid cancer. which is the best type. it’s like having the best of something not so good. if you do not know anything about thyroid cancer, let me say this now, i will not die. those were exact words from my surgeon. what’s next? i have to let this scar heal, i will have another surgery before the end of winter to remove the other half of my thyroid. following my second surgery, i will have one treatment of radioactive iodine. iodine has a characteristic where it is only attracted to the thyroid, so if anything was not removed in surgery, this would kill it.

then i’m done. my prognosis is very good. one of the best cancers to deal with… no chemo needed. however, i will acknowledge it is still a strange emotional feeling to just know i have cancer in my body. to think: i have cancer. somewhere. in me. i am nervous and disappointed that i will have to take pills to balance my hormones and metabolism for the rest of my life. but that is a small price to pay. i am still extremely thankful for my health, it could be so much worse.

this is what i mainly hope to achieve from this experience: had my doctor never found my nodule during a random routine physical, there is a chance this wouldn’t have been caught so early. friends, take care of your bodies. women: be responsible. we have such amazing modern day medicine and facilities to help us if we just be thorough and take the time to check what needs to be done.

soon after the news, i rallied three of my favorite people for a morning walk outdoors. this was my first time out since surgery, and we walked around lake waban {one of my favorite walks on the wellesley college campus}, had a lazy afternoon, and spent the evening at the TD Garden for the Celtics/Spurs game:

funny stories:

first, we happen to sit next to the celtics player-family of Jason Terry.

As soon as we found out their daddy was Jason Terry, Sela asked his wife, do you get to cut in line when you are coming in?!? due to the fact we’d just stood outside in the cold waiting to get inside the TD Gardne while it was very chilly, hehe… love-love-love little kids.

Jason Terry’s littlest girl slept through almost the entire game right next to us! sela was so excited when she sat down next to her because she thought she’d have a new buddy for the whole game, and then she promptly went to sleep!

early in the game, the cameraman zoomed in on her as one of the “fans of the game” nominee, and our group of crazy kiddos photo bombed this little sweety ALL-GAME-LONG! it was hysterical! Sela was on screen nothing short of a dozen times! plenty of time for us to get our cameras out and take a picture!

we finished the night off with clam chowdah at a red sox classic:

today, we started the day with football! our high school has the oldest rivalry with the suburb next to us, and every year they play on thanksgiving. we’ve gone two years in a row now, and it’s such a fun, community event. this year we played at needham high school.

it is a rare occasion to see my oldest daughter at a football game, she is usually with her friends the entire game. so, it was a pleasant surprise when i asked her to come stand by us for a minute, and she did! she has been in heaven this week having her best friend here.

after the game we headed out to plimoth plantation for the day. this was also our second time at plimouth! we went last year, too. new this year: we made dinner reservations to eat at plimouth plantation, and it did not disappoint! if you are in the area, at this time of year, i totally recommend going!

the traditional Rhodes|Bland children lineup:

ages: 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 6

our table runner filled with what we are thankful for hand-written comments –

i loved watching this fill-in over the past two days. the kids would come and go, and keep adding more…

and me, taking a picture.  looking ahead.  i have so much to be thankful for, my heart is so full. my family who circles their wagons when needed and protects me. my friends – i have always been blessed with amazing, talented, witty, loyal, and wise friends. the ability i have to create and the pure joy that fills my soul from doing so. my home, and this incredible adventure that husband and i have been able to plan and be on here in boston the past 16 months. freedom. and currently on my mind: my health. i know it won’t be long till i will be outside jogging and back in a hot yoga class. and my body has been so good to me.

what are you thankful for? happy thanksgiving! xoxo.

{photos by me, Jane Rhodes, all taken & edited on my iPhone.}