1 Year Out: My Surviversary

On April 16, 2012 I received my last chemotherapy treatment. In the cancer world, especially for triple negative breast cancer folk, this date is important. (If you'd like the short version of why it is, please read Q&A #4 in the Oh No, You Di'int! post.)

So this April 16 was when I passed the 1 year mark. I thought ahead about the date. How do you "celebrate" a day you look forward to getting to each year without a recurrence? It's a positive date if all's gone well, but also frought with haunting memories and hopes for the future. Another weird mental space to arrive at and sit with!

A creative idea came to mind: what if I had an artsy expression of words outside that could also be seen inside? What if the art and words also had to 'survive' in a sense - aging with time and seasons, but always hanging on to their original meaning and purpose? I liked the idea of a colorful bunch of words - kind of like a living version of one of my old quote boards. Really, this funky little wire bird ------->
led to the final idea = write words, thoughts, expressions, quotes, mantras, and positive affirmations on ribbons and hang them from a couple of trees in our backyard.

I happened to be in Oklahoma this year on my official surviversary date. Before I left home, I packed up some random scraps of ribbon and a few Sharpie pens for a project to give a positive nod to an important day. My aunt, grandma, uncle, and mom all participated late at night just before we turned in for the evening. And here's what we did:

Some of the ribbons we wrote that evening.

I love being able to see the ribbons in the trees both inside and outside our home. They'll receive a beating weather-wise, and I think that's neat - kind of like Tibetian prayer flags. Their messages remind me of the important things in life. They remind me to keep my head in the game. They give me warm fuzzies on days when my spirit wanes. They're beautifully imperfect: like life. They get tangled up into a mess and then fly freely other days: like me. They're great. Such a simple project and something I'm wanting to expand and add to any time the spirit moves me!

The ribbons in our bare aspens. 

Ribbons are hidden amongst the aspen leaves. 

Some of our view from the bedroom.

Do you want to contribute to my surviversary project? If you do, I welcome it! Feel free to drop by to create one/some, drop 'em off, or send long ribbons with your own writings.   :)

I think it's sweet we held hands like this the whole time.

To honor the 1 year mark with Joshua, we met with Ann Martin of Mile High Healing Vibe, who provided us with a personalized gong bath! The vibrations resonated throughout our bodies and it was a really neat experience to receive sound together. Ann even had chilled sparkling cider and dark chocolate for us afterwards.

All in all, the way we nodded to the milestone felt great - not grandiose, but honoring an important passage of time.