Sunnyside UP completes the MS Bike Tour!!

Well, we made it! All of the members of the Sunnyside UP finished the 150 km, with a few sore butts to show for it.

The speed demons in the front finished before the awesome threesome (Chris, Jennifer & Anka), but I'm counting it as a personal best (considering that I never biked that far before...).

Our team raised over $3,300 and had lots of fun doing it. Thanks to everyone who donated.

In the picture below: Chris, Jennifer, Dianne, Judy, Anka, Wendy, Sylvia, Steven (aka Puppy) & Christine. The Sunnyside UP team signs on our bike were made by Anne. What a team!

Message from a Friend

I received this from 2 friends this morning and thought it was worth sharing...

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift. I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER!

FRIENDS FOREVER!

The MS Bike Tour

You would think that at my age I would be beyond being influenced by peer pressure! Yet I somehow found myself talked into biking 150km from Ottawa to Kemptville in the MS Bike tour in just over a week from now.

Last Friday I did 60 km and I’m not sure I would have been up for doing the same thing the following day. No speed goals – I’m just hoping that the energy of the group will spirit me on and, even if they are waiting for me with flashlights at the finish line at midnight, I’ll complete it.

If you would like to make a pledge in support of the MS society, click on Pledge Me Online.

Every day is a bonus!

In 1998 I met a group of women that have become like sisters to me – my ”bosom buddies”, as we call ourselves. We met in a group called Healing Circles and continued to stay connected over the years in ways that go well beyond the boundaries of a defined support group. We’ve shared joys, sorrows, medical advice, the painful loss of some of the members of our circle, and renewal through the recent birth of a grandbaby.

I spent yesterday at a cottage with one of my bosom buddy sisters, Patricia, who is visiting from Victoria. After a wonderful swim and some catch-up time, she agreed to let me interview her for my blog. (Watch for a posting at a later date). As I listened to Patricia’s answers to my questions about how she is coping with her current situation, I couldn’t help but do some reflecting of my own.

As sometimes happens when someone talks to a friend that they can trust -- someone who knows them well enough to not be freaked out by it -- the topic of death came up. It’s not that we dwell on it, but anyone who has had cancer knows that it’s a fact of life that looms big at times, whether you are able to talk about it or not.

What occurred to me during our conversation is that I’ve had a shift since my cancer returned. I used to think that fear of dying would be a huge focus for me if my cancer ever came back, and yet the biggest change has been that I’m much more focused on living now than I ever was before. I’ve had cancer return and I’m still going strong! Every day is a bonus!

”Every man dies – Not every man really lives. ”

William Ross Wallace

Rock of Ages

I recently found myself at an Alanis Morrisette concert in Amsterdam with my son and his wife, surrounded by 20 and 30-somethings. I went all the way to Holland to see a performer from my own town – Isn’t It Ironic? I must admit that while I felt a bit out of place, I really enjoyed her concert.

Why is it that at 50 I can still identify with the painful breakup music of Alanis? Could it be because I spent a good portion of my adult life getting over one breakup or another? Or maybe it’s just because we really are the same people inside at 50 as we were at 20, only we repackage our interests to match what seems to be ’normal’ for people-of-a-certain-age.

I can’t help but notice that while performers like Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones still rock on into their twilight years, there isn’t a female that I can think of that is still rocking at their age. Men seem to be able to get away with it – their road-mapped faces add to their bad-boy rocker image. I don’t think a woman who looked like the female version of Ron Woods would continue to be popular. Will Alanis Morrisette still be popular in another 20-30 years when her breasts have sagged, her jowl is hanging and her hair is white? Unfortunately, I think she’s going to need more than a Jagged Little Pill to maintain her popularity into her senior years.

We think that as women we’ve made progress, but some things never change…

Vitamin D

Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found — adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin'' has anti-cancer benefits.

Only 24 percent of women in the study had sufficient blood levels of D at the time they were first diagnosed with breast cancer. Those who were deficient were nearly twice as likely to have their cancer recur or spread over the next 10 years, and 73 percent more likely to die of the disease.

"These are pretty big differences,'' said study leader Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "It's the first time that vitamin D has been linked to breast cancer progression.''

To read the complete story, go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24654464/

Biking in the Netherlands

Just a quick note to say that I love Holland (despite a tooshie that's recovering from 5 days in the bike saddle!).

My favorite place here has been Texel, an island off the north-west coast of Holland where Jennifer & I spent 3 days. The island is 25 km long and 9 km wide, with sand dunes, beaches that go on forever, fields of sheep, and picturesque villages.

But of course, the highlight of the trip for me has been spending time with my two favorite people - my son Adam and his wife Tara.
After all the biking we did last weekend, I didn't think Adam would be in a hurry for his mom to come back anytime soon. However, he says that next time I visit he'll have a motorized scooter and will be waiting in a pub for us at each town along the way. :-)