Birthday weekend

I have had so much fun celebrating my birthday this year. I went to dinner with Ken on Thursday night at Will, a BYOB across the street from my apartment. It was delicious. I had a hen of the woods mushroom as my appetizer and Ken had foie gras. Then he had short rib for dinner and I ate monkfish with monkfish liver. We drank wine that Athena gave me to celebrate my last chemo for breast cancer. I think it was one of our first dates in a long while.

On Friday, Hollace came by with beautiful flowers and cupcakes. She massaged my sore shoulder. Then we got sandwiches for lunch. Later, I had drinks with Ken and Rich at a bar across the street from my apartment. I was a little worried about getting drunk and not being able to use my crutches, but I was fine.

Yesterday, I went back to Adobe and had dinner and margaritas with friends from grad school, my old roommates, and our old neighbor, Antoine. Antoine massaged the knot out of my shoulder. We had cupcakes and ice cream cake and tried to guess what the karaoke singers in the next room looked like based on their voices and song choices. We didn't leave until well after midnight; it was my latest night out in probably a year. My friends walked me back into my home and remarked on how well I got up the stairs.

Today, I had brunch with Monica at the coffeeshop up the street. We finally caught up on each other's lives after the last few months. I enjoyed coffee for the first time in months. Then my parents and youngest siblings visited me. We went out to an incredible dinner. We passed each other our plates so that everyone got to try everything. There was lasagna, pesto fettuccini with shrimp, braesola, lamb shanks, and sweet potato gnocchi. Desserts were tiramisu, raspberry cake, and wedding cake. I enjoyed my family's company.

I enjoyed eating this weekend so much more than I typically do. I think the break from chemo helped make the weekend more enjoyable. I am thrilled to learn to walk again. I can't wait. I will find out soon when my stay at Magee will start.