Hi there!

Hi there,

I finally made it! It was really nice to see how everyone jumped in and posted a message for you as soon as you complained that we left you alone for five long days! This proves that despite the silence people are constantly thinking of you, check the blog as often as you do, and are ready to jump in as soon as you call for help. You do have nice troops after all.

I too was away for some time, but only away from writing. I followed your posts and checked the blog on those five quiet days (with nothing new to report!), hoping that you were not posting not because you were feeling too weak or your hands and feet were hurting too much, but because you too, like some of us, were out and about enjoying the summer with James and Julian. I was very sorry to hear that you had low days, they must have felt even worse considering that the blog was so quiet. Even if you know that many, many people think of you and send you good vibes every day, I'm sure it's difficult not to feel alone when we don't give sign of life. Luckily, as you said, those low days are over (and we have started writing again), and I hear you very combative again. Great!

I've been visualizing too, although nothing related to Lance Armstrong. His face pops up everywhere these days with the Tour de France and all. Nothing is left for the exercise of visualizing, and he is way too much in the present. I keep focusing on images of an older you and a grown-up James, side by side. He's so cute, in the latest posts, and he looks changed each time! It's still not so easy to imagine him as an adult, but I have no problem imagining you as an older woman. To tell you the truth age is really becoming on your face, with the dimples that remind me of how young you are at heart, and the lines that are clear evidence of what tremendous adventure you had to face and of how bravely you faced it. As you see, I am seriously working on it. And of course I am visualizing shrinkages, for which I pray every day and hope as strong as I can... about this, I will keep fingers crossed and eyes closed (it helps focusing) for your meeting tomorrow.

This summer is flowing slowly and very fast at the same time. It's already almost the end of July and it still feels April to me (except for the heat out there...). A lot of work the past two weeks, I changed supervisor and am now in a weird (but pleasant) transition phase. This of course doesn't promote taking time off and planning long vacations. However, I had two very normal and at the same time extraordinary weekends--simple, but like I could never have in the past ten years. On Friday last week my parents decided to improvise a visit. My Father called and said, "What about we come visit?", I said "Of course! When?" thinking they were planning ahead for the next week or so. He replied, "Even now". Then they decided they were too tired to travel that day and came the next. Great improvization! Ah, the magic of being on the same side of the pond... You know how that feels the first times. They came for two days, one of which we spent on a tour of the mountains. I didn't donwload the photos yet, but if I have a good one I'll show you. Last weekend it was our turn to go visit them. I think we all had a lot of fun just because we liked the fact that we could see each other every weekend.

Hugs hugs hugs to you.