Marking time

It's my chemo crash day -- two days after Friday's double dose -- but I'm not as exhausted as usual, probably because the doc changed the treatment order and this double dose followed two weeks without chemo. So, I'm still in my robe and pajamas but having trouble keeping myself in bed. It seemed like a good day to balance three months' of checking account statements.

I like to save up three or four months at a time and then tell myself stories as I check off the debits. Usually the stories are enjoyable as I drift back to a vacation or fun shopping trip with my mom or daughter reflected in the columns of numbers.

There were some of those as I went back through checks and debit card purchases from September, October and November. But there was a new, sad demarcation as well -- separating items from just before I discovered my lump to those that followed, including a sizable collection of checks written for doctor's office co-pays and deductibles for various tests and treatment.

Then, I saw the final tuition payment for Ben's OSU education and smiled. I recall how that day seemed a long time coming. I will remember it during moments when being done with medical bills for cancer treatment appears to be out of reach. As my mom likes to say, "This, too, will pass."