The first time I remember hearing about cancer, one of my young school friends had been diagnosed with it. Growing up with severe asthma, I spent a lot of time in the hospital and made fast friends with some of the other ‘regulars’ including some who had cancer. Some I saw a lot over the course of my childhood, others I only saw a few times (in my mind because they got better but that may be overly optimistic). Then, when I was 6, my great grandmother, who I was extremely close to, was diagnosed with leukaemia. Little did I know then that she would be the first family member but definitely not the last to do battle with cancer. Cancer has been a thread woven into the tapestry of my family – on both sides.
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Word Wednesday – Fire
I have a love – hate relationship with fire. On one hand, I’m a Girl Guide, so I love nothing more than to sit around a campfire telling stories, singing songs, and roasting marshmallows, spider dogs, and the occasional sour key (don’t ask – it was a dare). On the other hand, fire terrifies me. Like wake up at night sweating with my heart racing terrified. It’s always been like that. There is no specific event that triggered it, but I’ve always been very aware that while we like to think fire is an element that can be controlled, it can’t be – not all the time. As a result, I’m meticulous about fire safety and making sure a campfire or a cooking fire is well and truly out before I go on and do anything else. Even then I’ve been known to sneak out of my tent to double and triple check that it’s out and nothing is smoldering. My family teases me all the time about this habit, but it’s either that or not sleep all night because I’m obsessing over whether or not the fire is out. I take solace in the fact that almost all of my family is terrified of heights (both parents included) but I’m fine – the only thing I don’t like is someone else rocking the gondola or the suspension bridge but being up there? No issues other than the occasional bit of ear pain caused by the wonky tubes and not liking pressure changes. I also have a fear of dock spiders but that comes from a specific incident and I’ve become much better over the years with that fear.