Potato salad, pie, and pleasantries

In lieu of a department barbecue, which is normally held on the first Sunday of the term, the music students’ society hosted a pot-luck in the gazebo this evening. The reasoning was that there were always problems with charcoal briquettes, people not bringing food, waiting for said food to cook, etc. So I made my famous potato salad and bought two pies at the store (blueberry and field berry) as my contribution.

Today was a scorcher. Slaving over a hot stove was not fun, especially when a hot flash would strike without warning. But I now have confirmation that another student is returning to study with me, which is again encouraging news.

There was too much food. My potato salad is usually consumed immediately and there was at least half left over, which I brought home. I left the pies. Some hungry students will make short work of them. I chatted with new students and old, and had a chance to catch up with Vlad.

She’s been through the wringer. Last January she was operated on for ovarian cancer after months of chemo. When they were inside her, they found spots of cancer on several of her internal organs, so they scraped away as much as they could and then bombarded her with more chemo. She finally stopped the treatments in May after the doctor said she was clear and the cure at this point was doing more harm than good. So she has been recovering.

Her hair is very short and totally white. She has always been fat, and is still overweight, but is a lot smaller than she used to be. I kidded her that it meant she could go shopping for new clothes, and she commented that the slacks and blouse she was wearing were new and already too big on her. She has a new attitude that the bullshit at the department isn’t going to stress her, and she’ll do her job there and then do what she wants. But the money is nice.

When I asked her what sustained her through the two weeks of feeling like hell every month while she was going through the second bout of chemo, she said, “My faith,” and something about resting in the arms of the Lord. I guess I’m just too cynical for that. I didn’t disagree with her, but I added something about knowing that it wouldn’t last forever would help too.

I hope I never fall ill like that. I know too many people now who have had or have cancer: breast, ovarian, prostate, leukemia, pancreatic, lung, colon, etc. It seems as though it’s just a matter of time before everyone gets something. What a horrible thought.

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