17 Seventeens for 1700 Posts
Today I am grateful for all the parks and playgrounds in our community and time to spend with our grandson Leo at some of them yesterday.
When I hit publish on this post in a few minutes, it will mark post #1700 for "Habitual Gratitude." It has become an enjoyable tradition for me to mark each century mark here. It is also a reminder of how taking a leap of faith into the blogosphere in late March of 2012 has led to deeper gratitude and a more humbled and satisfied writer.
In honor of my 1700th post, here are 17 seventeens. When I think of the number 17, the first thing that comes to mind is my breast cancer diagnosis in 2008. I will start there.
1. My first surgery, a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, took place on July 17, 2008, after weeks of waiting and fear. These were some of the toughest weeks of my life.
2. On July 23, after that first surgery, I wrote out 17 thank you notes to family and friends who had offered me kindnesses in many ways. I didn't plan to write 17, it's just the number I ended up with. I wrote a poem about it too.
3. My third surgery, a bilateral mastectomy, took place on December 17, 2008. It brought relief and grief and everything in between, and it marked the end of months of surgeries and active treatment.
4. As my friend Jenny and I began to write about our shared BC journey, "17 Points of Clarity" came out. Read them here.
5. I began running again about 6 weeks after my mastectomies, and did my first post-cancer, flat-chested public run, a half-marathon, on May 17, 2009, exactly 5 months after surgery. It was joyful liberation, stride for stride.
6. As Darcy and I looked for our next marathon, it seemed fitting to choose the Kansas City Marathon, which took place on October 17, 2009. For the first time, we finished side by side in a marathon. Besides finishing our first marathon in Chicago in 2004, this is my most cherished marathon experience, exactly 10 months out from my mastectomies.
7. I graduated from high school in May of 1983, at age 17. Already drinking alcoholically, already full of the self-hatred and denial that would keep me drinking for a few more years.
8. From 17 days of sobriety, to 17 months, to 17 years and beyond, recovery remains a priority in my life. It has to or I lose everything, either quickly or slowly.
9. Marathons, or any run, begin with one step, then 17, then 1700, then 17,000 or more.
But a run of any length can only be done one step at a time.
10. Apply the same to a day. Whether it is 17 seconds, minutes, or hours, they can only unfold a moment at a time.
11. Consider mile 17 of a marathon. Those miles between 15 and 20 are tough. Over half done, but not yet past the psychological boost I get when reaching mile 20. Mile 17 is one that toughens us runners, in good ways, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
12. I have completed 17 full years at my current job and I just began school year #18 there. Seventeen years of experience is hard-earned and helpful. Seventeen years of many wonderful connections with many different people there, past and present, from students and parents to co-workers.
13. I decided to go back and find my 17th post: And Then There's Pup. It's a post also related to the summer of 2008.
14. And my 170th post: Off Buttons. The message there is even more fitting today than it was five years ago.
15. As I continued coming up with my list of 17, it dawned on me that another 17 is the year 2017.
It has been a tough year for many people I care about, but also a year full of growing in gratitude and hope.
16. One of those people I care about is my dear friend Sheila. Her daughter Carli died by suicide on April 4 of this year, just a couple weeks after her 14th birthday on March 17. Sheila's birthday is October 17. The conversations Sheila and I have had in recent months, both pain-filled and hope-filled, have taken our care and understanding of life, motherhood, ourselves, and much more to deeper levels. I appreciate our friendship more than ever.
17. There have been many significant seventeens in my life. This number 17 marks a journey of 1700 posts on a blog I started to help me better practice living gratefully and to honor my writing with time each day. I can't begin to explain how much it has helped in both areas.
Thank you for reading and helping me spread the idea of living gratefully. Have a good day!
When I hit publish on this post in a few minutes, it will mark post #1700 for "Habitual Gratitude." It has become an enjoyable tradition for me to mark each century mark here. It is also a reminder of how taking a leap of faith into the blogosphere in late March of 2012 has led to deeper gratitude and a more humbled and satisfied writer.
In honor of my 1700th post, here are 17 seventeens. When I think of the number 17, the first thing that comes to mind is my breast cancer diagnosis in 2008. I will start there.
1. My first surgery, a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, took place on July 17, 2008, after weeks of waiting and fear. These were some of the toughest weeks of my life.
2. On July 23, after that first surgery, I wrote out 17 thank you notes to family and friends who had offered me kindnesses in many ways. I didn't plan to write 17, it's just the number I ended up with. I wrote a poem about it too.
3. My third surgery, a bilateral mastectomy, took place on December 17, 2008. It brought relief and grief and everything in between, and it marked the end of months of surgeries and active treatment.
4. As my friend Jenny and I began to write about our shared BC journey, "17 Points of Clarity" came out. Read them here.
5. I began running again about 6 weeks after my mastectomies, and did my first post-cancer, flat-chested public run, a half-marathon, on May 17, 2009, exactly 5 months after surgery. It was joyful liberation, stride for stride.
6. As Darcy and I looked for our next marathon, it seemed fitting to choose the Kansas City Marathon, which took place on October 17, 2009. For the first time, we finished side by side in a marathon. Besides finishing our first marathon in Chicago in 2004, this is my most cherished marathon experience, exactly 10 months out from my mastectomies.
7. I graduated from high school in May of 1983, at age 17. Already drinking alcoholically, already full of the self-hatred and denial that would keep me drinking for a few more years.
8. From 17 days of sobriety, to 17 months, to 17 years and beyond, recovery remains a priority in my life. It has to or I lose everything, either quickly or slowly.
9. Marathons, or any run, begin with one step, then 17, then 1700, then 17,000 or more.
But a run of any length can only be done one step at a time.
10. Apply the same to a day. Whether it is 17 seconds, minutes, or hours, they can only unfold a moment at a time.
11. Consider mile 17 of a marathon. Those miles between 15 and 20 are tough. Over half done, but not yet past the psychological boost I get when reaching mile 20. Mile 17 is one that toughens us runners, in good ways, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
12. I have completed 17 full years at my current job and I just began school year #18 there. Seventeen years of experience is hard-earned and helpful. Seventeen years of many wonderful connections with many different people there, past and present, from students and parents to co-workers.
13. I decided to go back and find my 17th post: And Then There's Pup. It's a post also related to the summer of 2008.
14. And my 170th post: Off Buttons. The message there is even more fitting today than it was five years ago.
15. As I continued coming up with my list of 17, it dawned on me that another 17 is the year 2017.
It has been a tough year for many people I care about, but also a year full of growing in gratitude and hope.
16. One of those people I care about is my dear friend Sheila. Her daughter Carli died by suicide on April 4 of this year, just a couple weeks after her 14th birthday on March 17. Sheila's birthday is October 17. The conversations Sheila and I have had in recent months, both pain-filled and hope-filled, have taken our care and understanding of life, motherhood, ourselves, and much more to deeper levels. I appreciate our friendship more than ever.
17. There have been many significant seventeens in my life. This number 17 marks a journey of 1700 posts on a blog I started to help me better practice living gratefully and to honor my writing with time each day. I can't begin to explain how much it has helped in both areas.
Thank you for reading and helping me spread the idea of living gratefully. Have a good day!
Hello! I'm not able to find the "off buttons" post.... I'm glad you got a dog. Dogs are so encouraging. It's nice that you had a dog to help w/ your cancer. I love my dog :)
ReplyDeleteSorry about the link to "Off Buttons." It should work now. Dogs are the best at unconditional love :-)
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