Body of Lies

Mom had a good chemo session on Friday and left feeling well. I sat in with her for a bit which I always enjoy. It gives us a chance to just sit and B.S. about whatever. We have each others undivided attention because there is nowhere else to go when you have an IV stuck in your arm.
After her treatment we went and had lunch at the Loose Caboose in Salinas, a little deli which has been there since the beginning of time. She was having a hankering for their clam chowder (chowda for those back East). Disappointed, she found that the recipe had changed since the last time she had it years ago. After lunch she went home for her daily nap. Tangent: There is really something to be said for a nap I think. It's so refreshing. Obviously her body is requiring more sleep as it is in a constant battle against the tumor. I like a nice nap...
At 4:00 we went to go see Body of Lies in Monterey. Good movie and very action packed. It was a bit on the graphic side for mom, who I caught more than once hidding her eyes. I wont give away any of the detail but it was a very good movie.
After the movie we grabbed a quick burrito. OK, there was nothing quick about it. I came to realize that Del Monte Mall has turned into quite the gen Y (I like to call this latest generation "Gen Me") hangout on a Friday night.
All in all another very nice day haging out with mom.

She now has a week off chemo then three on followed by another off and three more on. After that it will be time to re-evaluate and go from there.

Back to work?

Mom has been doing very well the last few weeks. That is to say that her symptoms have been minimal. She seems to have a bit more energy day to day although she still is napping. The tumor must be shrinking some at least because her back and abdominal pain has subsided a lot.
We had a little date night the other day. She came with me to Marina's annual firefighter memorial service to recognize all the fallen firefighters from the county over the years. This year was a bit extra emotional as the young widow of a Matt Will was there to place his name on the board. Matt Will was a bulldozer operator with Cal Fire and died last year on a fire when his dozer rolled down a hill. Mom was expectantly a little on the emotional side during the ceremony but I think that's OK given her current state. After the memorial service we went to dinner at a little local spot, "Francisco's." She enjoyed it and ate much more than she thought she would. She damn near polished off a whole plate of calamari. It was great to see her out enjoying herself for the evening.
She has gone back to work twice a week for five hours a day. I'm pretty sure she has become rediculously bored sitting at home all the time. The combination of her drastic improvement since Stanford and going back to work has had a great impact on Lexi. She has been in a much better mood lately and it is so wonderful to see. At 15 all I want to see is her enjoying every moment of her life.