As you can see by the month’s break between postings, I’ve been struggling with the blog; its purpose, the goal, its usefulness, its lifespan. The original idea was it would be strictly a way to get news about the cancer out there so Lisa and I didn’t have to tell the same story over and over. This was great when things were actually happening every week. Post surgery recovery then moved into the new temporary normal where news was either unfit-to-print (ostomy bag issues) and too-boring-to-print (why can’t I find a pharmacy that carries 2″ Eiken seals and takes my insurance?). I did enjoy writing for writing’s sake again, but I couldn’t find a rhythm to posting and found myself reluctant to address things outside of the cancer. Would it come off as self-absorbed, or was just a way to justify my own laziness? But what’s more self-absorbed than posting on your blog about your own internal struggles with your blog’s purpose? Blah, blah, blah.

So here’s what’s going on:

Cancer front – I have a date set for the take-down/reversal of the ostomy: July 7th. Basically, it works like this: Colon gets sewn up, shoved back in, the hole closed up, then I, as the surgeon told me, learn how to poop again. It’s a 3-to-4 day hospital stay that I’m hoping will again be in the luxurious cancer section of Hopkins even though I no longer have cancer. In the run-up to the surgery, there are a series of appointments and tests that look to be simple when compared to the dreaded bowel prep. I’m not yet sure how this will affect work and travel yet. I’m guess it’ll depend on my ability to learn how to poop again.

Ride front – The Ride For The Feast was a great success, raising over $250,000. Lisa, Team Atomic, and the rest of the riders kicked ass despite a bad headwind on day one. I was designated the keeper of a prosthetic leg that one of the riders needed at the different pit stops.

Home front – A few weeks ago, we lost our dog Frank. He was an old, old fella and was gratefully being boarded at the vet when he had a seizure and lost his ability to stand. It was a very hard decision to put him to sleep, but ultimately the right one. It’s still hard not having him around. Since I only knew him in his twilight days, I’m fascinated by the stories of Frank’s wild years when he chased tall blond lady dogs and appeared in the non-so-famous painting Dogs Shooting Dice.

Wedding front – Haven’t written about this at all yet beyond the Suit Guy. Things are plugging along. Catering remains the big unknown, although we are plotting ways to circumvent the wedding-industrial complex. Given the recent food truck trend, Lisa and I are joking about having them all in the parking lot a few hours into the reception. Stay tuned….