For a lot of people, chemotherapy is scary. To some it brings hope for remission or even just a few more weeks or months with loved ones. For all of us, when we think about intentionally pumping toxins into our bodies and dealing with the subsequent side…
Rhonda Havig
After the Whipple procedure and the week of recovery in the hospital, it felt great to be home. There were some differences between recovering in the hospital and at home and I added items to the list of things I will never again take for granted. As…
The oncology surgeon said the Whipple procedure was the best option for removing my pancreatic cancer. I’m a bit old school, so every time I hear that name I smile thinking of the Charmin commercials with Mr. Whipple. And with a name like “Whipple” it seems like…
About a month ago, I learned I have pancreatic cancer. I decided to share my story on my blog so I can process this crap by writing it out and to provide hope or comfort to anyone in the same boat who might read this. To warn…
I’ll be up front with my word for 2021: In 2020, my word was do. I chose my word before I knew just how craptacular the year would be. Fortunately, it was quite useful to keep me on track: do get out of bed each day; do…
Some people are reflecting on the past year and coming up with a word to describe it. I think Bart Simpson had the perfect word for 2020: Craptacular. We can all agree 2020 was crap. And it was crap in so many spectacular ways there is no…
Over the past few months when I struggle with writing, this phrase comes to mind: write from where you are. It is a reminder to accept where I am in my writing life and not be frustrated that I am not somewhere else. I’m part of a…
2019 saw my first “word of the year.” It provided some focus in what felt like a rushed, hazy year. It worked well enough that I decided to pick a word again this year. 2020 has already seen a lot of “vision” language, so I decided to…
When my husband and I bought our house, one of my favorite things about the property was the cutest little three-foot tall pine tree planted in the front yard. Seventeen years later, not so little or cute. The tree had grown into a behemoth and it was…
I am taking an Intro to Creative Writing class right now because 1) I realized I have never taken a formal creative writing class and 2) I can (it’s a nice perk of working for a university). The first half of the class was on poetry and…