Bonjour!

2 months after my last chemo. Hair! Eyebrows!

Today was a lovely 50 degree day in Bozeman. Grace and I made the most of it by playing at the park after school. Sprinkle one playground with imagination, and there we were, sailing on a boat from New Jersey to France, encountering dolphins, sunken ships, and sharks. Ahoy!

Lots of new developments have come to the Tallmans recently. Here are the highlights...

Radiation treatments continue to move along. Last week I was a bit concerned as I became very tired and took a few days off work just to rest. I somehow bounced back this week and am feeling much better, but taking it easy. I had been going to the gym, but have decided to let that go for now, as I use up all of my available energy there. Afternoon naps are an important daily routine as well.

This Saturday I had the strength to pay the bills, do the laundry, take out the recycling, and finish a sweater. In my pre-cancer life, I would be somewhat upset to spend an entire day doing housework. Amazing how perspective can change. Now I am just grateful for every little thing. I'm grateful to be able to do so much. Grateful for laundry. Grateful to be productive and not lying on the couch. I feel like I'm Back From the Dead and am happy for the chance to be alive.

In other news, Brett has changed jobs. Last Monday he was laid off from Autopilot, the engineering design firm he was with. We had thought this was coming for some time, and weren't too surprised. By Tuesday, he had another job offer, but after careful thought has decided to start his own business and do contract design work for medical and surgical equipment. He already has one client contract and is working on others. So, things seem to be working out well so far, which is a big answer to prayer.

We continue to be grateful for my job, with it's great benefits and health insurance that allows Brett to be so flexible.

We have two vacation on the horizon. Brett is taking a much-needed vacation to Florida next week with a good friend. After a season of hard work and stress, I am happy that he can get away to relax, and happy that I am feeling good enough that he can.

And then.... for spring break, we are going to France! We are terribly excited. If all goes according to plan, I will finish radiation treatments on March 3rd, and we will board a plane for Paris on March 10th. We then will drive 6 hours to the southern coast to spend about 10 days in a small village. Brett's dad Pete and his girlfriend Patsy will be joining us.


My latest wig. I wore this for my passport photo. Makes me feel like a spy.

One of the silver linings of cancer has been waking up to the urgency of "now." For years we haven't taken a vacation. It seems there is never enough time, or never enough money. We have been hard at work for years with our jobs and with building our house. Every spring break, we have stayed home to work. Enough!

We had gone to France on our honeymoon and always wanted to go back, but kept putting it off. There was always a reason not to go. But now, we are making every reason to go!

We have been given the gift of a place to stay. (Thank you's go out to some incredibly generous friends.) And we are cashing in years of frequent flier miles. Our agenda will include good food, good wine, relaxation, and perhaps, a trip to the Musee' d'Orsay in Paris. We missed it last time and always said we would go back if we had the chance.

Brett is already fairly fluent in French. So Grace and I are learning with the Pimsleur series. At first she didn't want to do it at all. But I ended up bribing her with $1 for every lesson she learns. So far, it's working. Grace is delighted that she knows how to order wine and beer. And the other night, we learned how to turn down an overly-amorous French fellow. All of these are key skills when you are 9. haha.

Other fun things in our world have been watching the Super Bowl.... one of the few times we hook up the tv. And on Sunday, we celebrated my dad's 70th birthday with a small party.

I will sign off for now as Grace is waiting to start another lesson and won't start without me.

Au revoir!

Sending love,
Susan



The Tallmans watch the Super Bowl.
Grace brought all of her stuffed animals to root for The Packers.