I haven’t been posting much lately – busy enjoying the summer. It flies by here in New England and sometimes I’m afraid I may blink and miss it. I’ve been unemployed for 5 months now and people keep asking me what I’ve been doing. The answer: whatever I want! I am calling it “The Summer of Deb”.

It’s just so nice being home. I actually am starting to feel like a part of the community. We have great neighbors and a lot of friends in town now that I run into at the gym, grocery store, or various parties. After college, I moved 7 times in 7 years from apartment to apartment as roommates got married and finally settled for 5 years in my Boston condo. I loved city life, but from there it was off to Western Mass for 8 years with a farm next door and one across the street. The only sense of community I had was at Yankee Candle.

All summer we’ve been off every weekend having fun. Greg figured out we have hit all 6 New England states this summer and after this weekend we’ll have all the islands as well (Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket & Block Island). During the week – between workouts, grocery shopping and making dinner – I’ve “squeezed in” the beach with college friends, lunch poolside with my neighbors, and Patriots Training Camp to just name a few. I actually went to the town library the other day and got a library card – first one in 25 years! I love to read.

We still have some great weekends lined up before football season starts and grounds us for the Fall. We are having a lot of FUN! Sometimes it feels a little over indulgent and I feel guilty (Irish-Catholic Guilt), then I remember the Summer of 2006. That was the summer when there was no fun. None at all. There was only fear.

That summer I “squeezed in” working full-time between Jerry’s 3rd brain surgery, giving him twice daily antibiotic drips, trips to the ER, the rehab hospital from hell, and coming to terms with the fact that it was only going to get worse. I remember sitting on the front porch catching up on work (and watching the farmers harvest the crops) one day while he took a nap. It was right around this point in August and I was wishing for just one normal day of summer fun. Some lobster, maybe some steamers, the beach, the Lake, anything at all.

It wasn’t meant to be that summer, but this summer is a different story. It’s been 2 years now since I was first diagnosed with my own health scare – breast cancer. Now 7 months removed from my last Herceptin treatment, I feel great! I’m home, I’m free from work, I’m happy, I’m loving being with Greg, and I’m enjoying being me. It’s “The Summer of Deb” and I like it!