Just call me "Radioactive Girl!"

That will be my new superhero name thank you very much (bestowed on me by the greatest friends.)

Luckily for me I've already got the superhero powers to go with it.... :~)

So today is day 1 on being ostracized from society. Well, kinda day two but day one didn't count because I was driving and super tired...so I'm counting this as real day one.

According to the doctor that talked to me for nearly 30 minutes before receiving my treatment...this is completely unnecessary.

She looked at me like I was a crazy when I told her I'd be traveling out of town for seven days.


"You don't need to do that!" she said with the most perplexed look on her face.


"I DON'T?!" I asked thinking maybe perhaps these precautions weren't necessary,

"No! You just need to maintain 3 to 6 feet contact with your children and all others at all times, don't sleep in the same bed as your husband, don't share the same bathroom, make sure to flush three times, don't kiss your kids, make sure to wipe everything down that you touch, wash your hands with soap and water every time you touch your body, seal up any eaten leftovers and promptly dispose of them outside, promptly clean any dishes you use....and you'll be fine!" (in addition to the rest of the things I have to do).

And now I looked at her like she was the crazy.


"Oh....that's all. Yeah, I think I'm still gonna leave."

So here I am.

Here I am.

She told me a list of possible side effects I could expect to have...inflamed thyroid, soar throat, racing heart, profuse sweating, clogged salivary glands, nausea, but so far...nada. I don't feel a lick of difference. Which kinda freaks me out...I think I'd rather feel some kind of effects from this radiation because then I could feel better thinking that it was actually working. But I feel nothing. Which makes me worried that it's not. I really don't want to do this again.

And since I don't feel any negative side effects (which I was praying that I wouldn't but still expecting that I would...I don't know how that even makes sense....) it's easy for me to forget...because I don't have any physical reminders reminding me that I need to keep my distance. So I went to HyVee last night and was leisurely walking around and then abruptly remembered...."keep your distance, not too close". So, I'm grateful, actually to be here. It would be too easy to relax and not maintain boundaries at home. Too easy to get distracted and forget to sanitize, or not to hug or carry or cuddle.

So I'm here.

And I am filled with an overwhelming feeling of humility.

So many friends bestowed gifts upon me for my time here....books out the wazoo, a 1000 piece puzzle, magazines,  DVD's, items for pampering, flowers, loads of phone calls, and more to come. (not even mentioning all the friends who are pitching in back at home with dinner for Isaak and the girls!)

To say that I am grateful doesn't come close to describing my gratefulness.

I am humbled by the love and generosity of others.

And by the Lord.

All the little ways He's used my friends to pour His love on me during this time. That's what we're here for isn't it? To be a tool to show and share God's love to others.

I was talking to a friend a little while ago about how I had never seen "Phantom of the Opera". She mentioned what a good movie it was so a few days later I looked for it on Netflix to watch before I left. But, it wasn't available. So, I kinda put the thought away...after all, it was only a movie. And Thursday when Liz dropped off some bags of goodies, low and behold...peaking out of the bag Beccy lent me was "Phantom of the Opera." I nearly peed I was so excited! And then Kristine dropped by earlier and brought me "An Echo in the Darkness" which I had been waiting to read....and just two...very specific wants I had...that the Lord granted me.

A book and a movie.

Seems trivial in the grand scheme of things.

But...in the grand scheme of things....that's why it's not trivial.

Because God is meticulously detailed. He cares about every little aspect of our lives. Every one. And He loves me so much that He will even bless me with a book I've been waiting to read and I movie I've been wanting to watch. He will show me He loves me in special quirky unexpected ways. Ways that are uniquely costumed to who I am and who He created me to be.

It was an extra. Books and movies are extra. And God delights in extras. God delights in surprising us. And blessing us with what may seem trivial to someone on the outside...but to you...you know how personal and special that extra blessing was. He delights in granting us the desires of our heart...even a silly desire of watching "Phantom of the Opera" when I'm all alone and have the t.v. to myself for seven days.


So yeah...to say I'm grateful is a drastic understatement.

And excited to see what God does with this old heart of a mine the rest of the days I'm here....

(today I put a dent in "The Power of a Praying Wife" and oye...He's already started on this here heart.)