I left a bit of a gap between the last blog entry and this one ... partly because we have been busy, but also because I haven't felt like it. There you go, at least I'm honest. We had our trip to Brisbane and spent time with my family - always a treat. We are a close bunch and I'm blessed to be married to a man who is more than happy to be a part of it, so everyone gets along well. We got to catch up with my youngest sister and her absolutely adorable baby and also celebrate another sister's birthday with a great family day out.
Then we came home to reality ... doctor's appointments, getting ready for the new school year, etc. As an added bonus, I had to go and have a skin cancer removed from one of my ears. This had come as a shock when I was first told, but I reassured myself that there are worse places to have lumps removed from and decided to buck up and be brave. In the end, I came out of the experience a little more shaken than I had expected.
The needles required to numb the area weren't too bad and I could cope with being told I needed a skin graft to finish the job neatly - it was either that or end up with an ear like an elf. What I wasn't expecting was the unbelievable sensation of being able to HEAR my skin being cut (of course, the sounds were magnified because of it being my ear - why hadn't that possibility occurred to me before?). Then the blood vessels were cauterised to stop any bleeding. To the layperson, that means burnt. Which, in my poor ear, sounded a lot like SIZZLE SIZZLE. The smell wasn't great either. Urgh.
The dressings were put in place and I was sent home to take paracetamol for a couple of days. This morning I went back to have the dressing changed - a very uncomfortable experience because there was hair caught under the sticking plaster. I felt like I was getting the side of my head waxed as the dressing was gently (supposedly) pulled away. Not to mention my poor tender ear being pulled in every direction during the process. I was assured by the doctor that it all looks good, a new dressing was put on (I may shave that side of my head before going back for that one to be removed) and I was sent on my way again, with instructions to return at the end of the week. All in all, not a very pleasant experience, but a necessary one that I am glad I've had done.
While this has been an interesting experience to write about (and probably should be a signal for me to remind everyone about the importance of applying sunscreen to the tips of the ears), it was actually something else that gave me the urge to type tonight. It was the drive we took today.
We needed to go to the Sunshine Coast to get a couple of things not available in our own fair town. On the way home, on a whim, we left the highway and took the scenic route home up through the beautiful Mary Valley. It meant it took twice as long to get home, but we toured through pretty little towns we usually don't give a second thought to. We travelled below the speed limit and enjoyed the scenery - the hills and valleys, the heavily treed areas where we drove in silence with the windows down so that we could listen to the Bell Birds as we passed. Further along, we pointed out scrub turkeys and a kangaroo that hopped across the road a little way in front of us. Seriously, we were like tourists.
The amazing thing was having the kids really appreciate the beautiful areas we have so close to where we live.
The skin cancer surgery was certainly the biggest event of the week for me but this afternoon's drive was somehow more significant. After the past few days of feeling a bit low and wanting to keep to myself, I came home today with a clear, happy mind. Sometimes it's the smallest things that make me appreciate how lucky I am to be healthy and to live where I do :-)
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