Five

Five years ago I sat in my surgeon's office and heard him tell me I had cancer and then...nothing. I don't remember anything after that. My world shrank to the size of those two syllables and all of a sudden I couldn't see past that afternoon.  

I was a few months into a fresh decade. My thirties were supposed to be filled with big dreams and opportunities and adventure. My diagnosis turned it all upside down. 

Life has a funny way of keeping on keeping on. Even when I felt like I was taking one step forward and two steps back, days turned into weeks and then months and years. I've not wished away the last five years but I have had this date tattooed on my heart.  

Five years is the magic number. Five years means my risk of recurrence has dropped dramatically. Five years means big dreams and opportunities and adventure don't need to be tempered by test results or specialist appointments. Five years means I can breathe again.  

Five years isn't a guarantee of anything (the first person to tell me we could all be hit by a bus tomorrow gets a punch) but it is a comfort. I can wrap those five years up in a box and tuck them away. Life will keep on keeping on but now I feel like I can start making plans instead of being swept along in the terrible current that is cancer.

I have been cut open and sewn back together. My body is scarred and soft in some places and gnarled and rough in others. But I'm standing strong, five years later, bolstered by the love and support thrown at me from every corner of my life. Cancer has taken a lot from me but it's also filled me with gratitude and a deep appreciation for the different ways people show up. Today is a celebration of my five years, yes, but it's also a celebration of the amazing people in my life who kept my life keeping on keeping on. Y'all, we did it. Five years. 

Hands-on Cook-off Contest by Better Together BC

The Hands-on Cook-off Contest is back! Between now and May 16, 2018, any BC resident can submit their video to enter to win some amazing prizes (like $1,000 cash, thankyouverymuch). 

Videos can be submitted in either of two categories:

• To enter in the Multigenerational category, at least two generations must be involved in the making of the recipe.
• To enter in the Youth category, at least two youth aged 18 and under must participate in the making of the recipe.

Cooking with my kids is not stress-free, and sometimes it is not even a little bit enjoyable for anyone participating in the cooking or existing in the general vicinity of the cooking. But it's important. I want my kids to grow up with a healthy relationship to food. I want them to appreciate the care and effort that goes into preparing food. I want them to be familiar with different ingredients and different cooking techniques. I want them to feel comfortable and confident in the kitchen.  

My parents never discouraged me from experimenting in the kitchen, even when it resulted in offerings such as a solitary black olive floating in a (white porcelain) bowl of water. They made me feel like I'd created a new and exciting dessert when really what I'd presented them with was a faux turd. My parents gave me the freedom to play with different flavours and made the kitchen a fun place to spend time. It's something that's stuck with me and it's something I want to give to my kids.

If you're a BC resident and you've got a budding chef, head over to Better Together BC to enter the contest, but also to check out the great resources and recipes. Good luck!

{image: bettertogetherbc.ca} 

The Fingerprint Heart - Easy and Beautiful Mother's Day Craft

Listen, pals. There's still time to whip out your DIY hat and win Mother's Day with this beautiful (and easy!) craft. 

Here's what you need*:

• Blank stretched canvas, square, any size (8 x 8 inch is an excellent size)
• Acrylic paints in various colours (if you've got a whole pile of kids, maybe give each one their own signature colour)
• A template (cut a heart out of a piece of paper. Boom! Template.)
• Some fingers. Kid fingers. Your own fingers. Whatever fingers you think the special lady in your life will want to see on her Mother's Day craft.

*some of these links are affiliate links, which means if you purchase from the link, I earn a small percentage of the sale

Here's what you do:

Prepare your canvas by taping your template onto the canvas with painter's tape (so you don't damage the edges of your canvas when you take the template off). 

Pour a small amount of one colour of paint onto a palette or plate or paper towel, whatever works for you.

Lightly dab a finger in the paint and then gently tap on the canvas to create fingerprint polka dots. Continue with different fingers and colours, allowing some drying time in between colour changes. Make sure you do some dots along the edge of your template so your heart has a nicely defined shape.

Allow to dry completely. 

Make a legend: write the names of the owners of the fingerprints on the back edge of the canvas and have them do a single fingerprint beside their name in their signature colour. Make sure the paint on the front of your canvas is BONE DRY before you flip it over to do this part.

That Time I Didn't Have Cancer

Speaking from experience, going to a doctor's appointment convinced you have cancer and being told you do not is infinitely better than going to a doctor's appointment confident you do not have cancer and being told you do. I've done it both ways. Today, hearing the specialist tell me my pathology report came back clear felt like a million pounds being lifted off my shoulders. I have been paralyzed for months anticipating the surgery, having the surgery date changed multiple times, fretting, planning my kid's birthday parties just in case the surgery went wrong, actually having the damn surgery, and recovering. Today is my New Year's Day. A January 1st redo on May 1st. I'm celebrating with bubbly, obviously. Because that's what New Year's Day calls for. Cheers!