Well, that flew by. I know you all think teachers' holidays are far too long but it's all a matter of perspective. The week in Keswick whizzed by. We still had two days of school left on the Monday and Tuesday, and then on the Wednesday I went with the girls to see Kylie (purely as a means of transport, you understand.) Then, by the time we had spent Thursday trying to glue the outside metal light Joel broke in the Keswick apartment we were renting, it was back to a few weeks of torrential rain in York. Cornwall was good, if damp. We met up with some really good friends and managed a few days on the beach. Peranporth beach is very crowded, but Joel's game of "100 Loud and Noisy Ways of Falling Into A Hole In The Sand" is always good for clearing space. So the Greenbelt Festival followed Cornwall, and after that Dublin, London and ... back to school. You see, shorter than you think.
I have started the next three months of chemo. It has once again been an easier than expected ride. I have managed to work full time this week and so should hopefully be at work more or less throughout the period. I can already sense concerned furrows of the brow, but I promise to take time off if I need to. Martha has started Year 9 and Naomi has just started secondary. (She is prepared to take time off for education between productions, but only just. The Railway Children received huge critical acclaim nationally , but I suppose it's possible this isn't SIMPLY down to her appearances. Joel is back at his own school, which is a great place for him, and he counts off the days at the weekend until he goes back. Lazy, selfish Mary is quite prepared to see us destitute ... I apologise. Mary has stopped working on Fridays which means that her working week is much more manageable and she now has some space (which she well deserves.) So that is more or less how we are at the moment ... getting on with things. The 'white knuckle' moment will come in December when I have an MRI and a CT scan to assess the impact of the treatment. At the moment we are unsure how things have been affected, BUT my tumour markers are slightly down (I heard last week) and my pain levels are still reduced overall. This certainly gives cause for hope, but I just have to keep heading in this direction. It's all very week to week.
I hope you have all had a good summer. I really enjoyed seeing many of you over Greenbelt. Thanks again for checking the blog.
