I had to do it. I had to force myself to venture out of the cocoon I was beginning to swathe myself in, the self-imposed travel aversion I had been weaving around my psyche. I realized it was becoming a problem when I was saying “no” to trips more than I was even saying “maybe.” That’s just not me, and it was time to step up and reclaim my wanderlust!
So it was off to Big Bear for an overnight Cancercation. I was badly in need of a day off from cancer – from research and reading and stressing – but needed to stay somewhat close to home so my anxiety level wouldn’t skyrocket. Big Bear was only a couple hours away with an abundance of bed-and-breakfast inns (no camping this time – if I was going to be away from home, it was gonna be as foo-foo as possible, dammit!).
I booked a room at Gold Mountain Manor, a magnificent log mansion built in 1928, and hit the road.
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| Stunning July day at Big Bear. |
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Gold Mountain Manor. |
Cancer? What cancer? I was again normal. I wasn’t “newly diagnosed with Stage IV
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.” I was just me, on
a roadtrip and enjoying a few summer days in Big Bear. And it was fucking awesome.
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| A friendly local..... |
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| Loving the beautiful gardens and grounds of the Manor. |
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| Soaking up the gorgeous mountain sun on the veranda. |
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| Looking back toward the lake while riding the ski lift to the top of Snow Summit. |
So what was my take-away from this little adventure? A whole bunch of “nevers.” Never permit fear to take hold. Never let cancer dictate what I will or will not do. Never allow cancer to prevent me from doing something that I’ve always loved. And never, EVER give cancer any power.
I view this as one of many cancer tests, to see how far I would back down, how much of my life I would give up because of the fear that this cancer thing tries to incite.
Well, I got news for you, lymphoma:
