warm, November sun!

Sitting on my chair in the office, my back hurts like hell as apparently I did something wrong during my Pilates class last night (or last week... don't remember...), I had a migraine all night and slept miserably, I need to finish this case today otherwise I will be stressed all weekend and all in all, I should feel like s**t.... but, there's the thing, I don't!! I really don't!

Why? Because the warm, November sun is up in the sky and sends generously his brilliant rays through my window to warm up my back and my face and my heart! And I realise that it really takes very little for a person to have a moment of sheer bliss, a moment when all the bad is gone and forgotten and maybe, just maybe, we can believe it won't come back :) But even if the bad returns, this moment here, right now, is full of good! It's precious! And this is a moment of happiness!

I have been under the weather for some time and this has been reflected in the absence of any posts lately... I have promised that I will only write about good stuff in this blog and I will keep my promise, so be patient with me through my periods of silence and remember that I always recover and come back to you.

I am an optimist by nature and always looking out for anything that can put a smile on my face so that I can also share it with you and perhaps put a smile on your faces as well. Today's treat is the sun! So if the sun is shinning in your part of the world, enjoy it, absorb his healing powers and take a moment to appreciate life.

Isn't that "better than shoes"? Believe you me, it's better than my new Fendi sandals ;)

my bicycle!

My bicycle is all black but not shiny at all because that would make it look like a giant patent leather sandal which would be silly. My bicycle has a steering wheel with handbrakes (because who ever came up with the idea of pedalling backwards to stop a bike must have been a nut case...) and a little bell to let people know that I'm coming... not that that is going to save them...

My bicycle has two bags hanging to put stuff in but not a lot of stuff like supermarket shopping and all... just small stuff. My bicycle is the right size for me and my feet do get to touch the ground and I like it like this because it is true that one never forgets to ride a bike but it is also true that one forgets (after 20 years...) how to turn and stop and indicate directions etc. So it is good to be able to put feet on ground when riding a bike. To avoid falling if possible.

My bike is a bit of a mid-life crisis trophy but I do not care because I like my bike and I also already did the two seats cabrio in my youth (ok, not so much youth but I already did it...), I already exercise and I do not feel a real crisis coming so I guess it is  all right. And when I ride and feel free and I have the wind in my hair I don't even remember to worry about the bugs that might get in my open-in-a-big-smile mouth.

My bicycle is better than shoes. I like my bicycle!

awareness...

What a summer! I mean, really, what a summer this has been... I wish I could go on writing about the lovely dinners on the balcony or the drinks out in the open with friends, or my new bicycle (in fact, this may deserve a full post on its own... I may get back to it...) or about how great it has been wearing sandals and sun dresses for almost two months... But this post is about something else. It's about awareness.

Last month I was diagnosed with skin cancer. I got the news by phone and I have to tell you the word alone, the "big C" word, even when it is only the less bad kind it can possibly be, it has a weight that is very difficult to describe. I was overwhelmed. I did spend a weekend being overly sarcastic about my situation, desperately trying to laugh about what was not all funny... Then, the practicalities took over, the removal surgery was scheduled and I went (finally) on holidays. I would be lying if I were to say that it ever left my mind... a week of rain in the north of Africa did not help either... But I tried.

Two days ago I had the surgery. Though I remain worried about the scar it will leave, the little bugger having lived on my decolletage for some time now, I focus on the fact that I have been cancer free for these two days and I surely hope it will continue like this for many, many, many years!

Having been aware of my condition was frightening. Going to the doctor, having the biopsy, it all was daunting. But I do prefer a thousand times better to have known and treated as quickly as possible. My point being: choose awareness! Choose to have the regular tests, choose to have the exams, choose this type of fear of knowledge as the other kind, the kind which comes following the alternative behavior of avoidance is, I bet you, far far worse!

So, do not hesitate, if something looks and/or feels weird on your body, go check it out. Be aware. It can save your life. Which, no doubt about it, is better than shoes ;)