Welcome November! One of my favorite months of the year! I just love Thanksgiving, as it is a day to be with my family and my children, who come home from university for the holiday. Although preparing the yummies for the day is no easy feat, the simplicity of the actual gathering is beautiful. And this year I have much to be grateful for!

First off my first sober Halloween was better than expected. Interestingly, I was more concerned about the AV voice, blaring in my ears, yesterday than any other event I have attended, in nearly 6 months of sobriety. But to my surprise, it turned out to be a wonderful evening eating, drinking (AF drinks for me) and giving out candy to the thousands of adorable children. Yes thousands! Our area is quite popular for Halloween. My night ended at 11 pm and I was in bed by midnight with all my wits in tact!

Now, on to the horrific final days of October leading up to last night. I began to experience intense back pain two weeks. My routine and life were completely disrupted. I went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered a lumbar and thoracic MRI. And three days ago, my doctor called with my MRI results. He said my imaging looked good. There were a few minor issues, that apparently come with age, but nothing significant enough to cause my pain. And then he went on to say the dreadful word followed by a punch in my gut! “BUT I did see a cyst on your kidney and another on your pancreas and am going to order additional testing.” All I heard was pancreas and my mind went into a frenzy. Wait…how did my back issue now became a nonissue. Pandora’s box exploded. So after another MRI on my pancreas, and a renal ultrasound I waited in fear, disbelief and panic for 2 days. Of course, the AV voice had never been louder but I did not succumb. Instead I cried, I prayed and I sat in silence and waited. And, yesterday, late afternoon I received the news….BENIGN. And in all my back pain, at that moment and today, I’m grateful for LIFE! Perhaps we are presented with these terrifying situations to remind us not to take a moment for granted.

And in terms of my back….well, I will have to figure that out. In the grand scheme of the past few days, I am not concerned. And I’m confident with the right therapy it will resolve.

So this month I will celebrate my health, my upcoming 6 months of sobriety, my supportive family, my incredible children and my incredible partner, who has been my rock!