Good afternoon, lovely people. Welcome to another great day 🙂

I’m in a good mood today – and you wanna know why? Because I’ve finally finished prepping for my talk. Okay, not exactly finished. (My mom has a surprise waiting when she gets home from work: me giving her this speech!). But the structure has been hammered out, and I feel good about the contents.

You know, when I agreed to give a talk on the ‘patient experience’ for this upcoming Palliative Care conference, I knew that going back to the dark times might be difficult, but I didn’t expect it to also be relieving. In this talk I dig down into some of the hard packed crap that made treatment particularly difficult, and I’ll be exploring it with the very people whose jobs are to help alleviate that stress. So how great is this? Certainly a group I can appreciate, and now I get to show them a little of the ‘hard truth’ I never brought with me into the hospital.

None of my nurses knew of Bumpyboobs during treatment. None of the doctors knew either. Because really, they inspired a lot of that content, and I didn’t want any grudges held against me.

But this Wednesday in Orillia I get to be honest. Really, truly honest. And we get to go over the highs and the lows.

I’m looking forward, and hoping my knee caps don’t shake too much.  (Oh, I used to debate in high school and as I was up there talking, my knee caps would shake and shake and shake. Good thing I wasn’t carbonated.)

On a different note – I think November ought to be the month I gear down and get internal. Falling leaves, preparations for winter, the lessening of sun – can there be a better moment for down shifting? What with the Writers Festival blog, Narrative Nipple design, the palliative care talk, and the writing course, I’ve totally neglected any actual, love-of-my-life writing. There are projects that need completing and characters who deserve my attention.

And so November will be a time to breath. I’ll keep you updated on how far that takes me. Resolutions are not promises, but I really do want this time to write. (And not be distracted, Catherine, so stop surfing the internet!)

You know, there was a time when I craved a busy life, a life that wasn’t restrained to the treatment chair or bed. And now I’m living that beautiful reality. It feels good. It feels great.  

And today I’m happy. 🙂