We just got home from a wonderful weekend at Ouachita--wow--lots of "w" sounds there--I am pretty easily amused, folks. As I've mentioned before, this is my last weekend before chemo, and I wanted to go ahead and have our planned Homecoming weekend with our girls, so off we went to Arkadelphia.
We had great accomodations at Audrey's B&B, which is owned by Bill and Snookie Dixon (Dean Dixon for you old OBUers), and their cottage has every amenity imaginable, and the breakfasts were wonderful! It's also close enough to campus that we could easily walk to and from different events.
We did things a little differently this year by arriving mid-afternoon and just visiting with Kelsey for a couple of hours, then taking her out to eat before her Tiger Tunes performance with the band. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at the B&B, and then we walked down to Jones Performing Arts Center on campus to "people watch" as I called it, but it was really to make sure we saw friends who might only be at that Tunes performance and not at any of the next day's festivities. Although there were hundreds of people milling around, we ran into quite a few friends and were able to visit. Kelsey came back to the B&B with us for a little more family time, then we all got some sleep.
Saturday of Homecoming is always an activity-packed day, and I often find myself turning from one old friend to another with hugs and laughter, making me wish for more time to visit. This day was no exception, and the hugs for me were particularly meaningful as many people had learned of my breast cancer, and they gave me assurances of prayer. Some were survivors themselves, and they offered words of advice since they had been there, bought the t-shirt.
My social club at Ouachita was the EEEs, and Kelsey is also a part of that club. One of the traditions is to "circle up" and sing the club song, "Our Pledge of Love to You". I had been able to keep my emotions in check the night before and that morning, but with Kelsey beside me, our arms linked together as both EEE sisters and also as an EEE mom and daughter, when we got to "fills our hearts with memories of joy, for the EEEs", I lost it and couldn't sing another word. I squeezed Kelsey's hand, and she looked at my eyes and saw the emotion, then she started crying, and then all of the sudden, the song was over, and she chided me for "making" her cry. It was a precious but very vulnerable moment, but I was able to put on my sassy tiger print sunglasses and recover. I'm not saying that I don't let myself cry because I do, but I had things to do, and not time for much crying at the time.
And here's what I really want everyone to know--One of my old classmates who was a bit younger than me in school, but someone whom I have grown to love and cherish because of her good-natured giving and sweet spirit is Suzanne Meador. It may sound silly, but Facebook has helped us build a sweet friendship, and I wonder how I ever missed being her friend back in the day. Anyway, Suzanne told me before arriving on campus this weekend that she had a little "happy" for me, and she said to make sure to get with her on Saturday so she could give it to me.
Suzanne hosts a "Chic Chat" at her house each month in the Austin, Texas area, and ladies come and have a Bible Study for the chat part, and Suzanne's daughter, Ashley, who is a pastry chef, prepares amazing desserts for their refreshment time. Suzanne usually posts a picture of the table decorations with the food, and I am continually amazed at their creativity, and she has always assured me that the confections are as good to eat as they are to look at.
So around noon yesterday and just after wiping my EEE tears, I made my way over to the Student Center where Suzanne said she had my "happy". I kept running into people who wanted to wish me well, and it was difficult to even get over there. When I finally walked into the "The Growlery" as they call it now, Suzanne had a Chic Chat table set up for me with beautiful pink cupcakes made by her sweet daughter, Ashley! It was my own breast cancer survivor party, and different OBU friends soon began to show up for a special time of celebration. What a precious thing for her to do for me, and she had to bring it all from Austin! The cupcakes were absolutely delicious, too, and every bit as good as they looked! I'm going to post a picture in the photo section above as soon as I can get them downloaded, so be sure to click above to see the table.
Suzanne made me cry, too, when she talked about me being a mentor, and all I could do was grab her hand and hold it, and tell her, through more tears, how precious she was to do this for me. What a great way to start of my week with positive thoughts before my first chemo!
The kindness of the people continues to amaze me--Dara and Bailey Bigger just dropped of a basket of fresh, homemade muffins for us to enjoy. There are so many other folks who have done things and who continue to do things for us, and if I haven't sent you a thank you note yet, I will soon. And the cards! Thank you to everyone for the words of encouagement and hope. I am keeping each card to re-read over the coming weeks and months.
Please know through each thing that you do, you are making this battle a bit easier, and may God bless you for it!
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