Picnic...

sunday was a back to school picnic at little man's school.  it was held from 1pm - 3pm on the pe field.  and i went! of course i was sunscreened with a cover shirt, but i was outside during peak sun hours.  it was alot of fun, and all the money made goes to making the school better. there was supposed to be a kickball game, but the kids got distracted by the hula hoops they brought out instead.  i can't say enough how much i love his school...

they have a garden on the main campus for most of the school, and kindergarten has their own kinder garden on their part of campus.  they teach the kids to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  then they even have them compost lunch scraps... and my hubby is helping to get a worm bin created for the kinder garden.  its great how involved he has been, feels like he is picking up the slack where i can't.  and he keeps reassuring me that after this next surgery is complete and i have recovered i can volunteer... apparently alot of parents start off wanting to help, but few continue year round.  so that is a huge plus for me... i want to be very involved in my kids' education. at one point i had wanted to homeschool them... but as they got older i realized they already knew i was a soft touch... i didn't want them to exploit that and have their education suffer.  besides, my patience with children was alot higher before i had any...

little man is excited to learn there... it is so great to watch him be so excited for school.  i just hope he is always so excited... there is always more to learn in life.  i know recently i have been trying to learn how to get past the heliophobe stage since my diagnosis... i think what i am discovering is everyone is right by saying it just takes time... i remember thinking i knew that was probably true, but could you be more general? even though i am not completely over this stage yet i can see light at the end of the tunnel.  last weekend i even helped my hubby out working at the bay, again vigilant about sunscreen (for me, the kids, and a couple customers)... so that's 2 sundays in a row that i was outside most of the day... so much better than only leaving for needs (ie. dr, store, appt).

not everyday is a picnic... and i've been pretty depressed recently.  i've known all along that i shouldn't let my paranoia get to me, but it was... i finally feel like i am really being optimistic, not just faking it til i make it.  i have this one last surgery to tell me i am cancer free, then new and improved life to look forward to.  i've always enjoyed helping others, and doing what i can to give back... i feel like i am returning to normal just in time to feel like myself before a serious effort to do my part to raise melanoma awareness.  and maybe that is what is motivating me to feel normal again... i don't really know.  but either way i am really enjoying it...