So Much To Be Grateful For

So, several months ago Jim was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It has been quite an eye opening experience for both of us.

First, let me say that we are both so grateful to be sober and a couple in recovery. I don’t think we would have made it this far in the journey, if not. Living one day at a time, having faith and acceptance has been the cornerstone for which we have both gotten through to this day.

28 rounds of radiation and implantation of radioactive internal seeds, Jim is now at the point where he will be able to take a deep breath and relax for awhile. He is under watch. We wait and see. With gratitude, and many prayers, Jim is kicking cancers ass! He is on the road of recovery and hopefully soon he will be cancer free.

That being said, gratitude is the word of the day. Jim and I took a road trip over the Thanksgiving week. Tarpon Springs Florida was the destination.

Tarpon Springs is a quaint little town. It has the largest Greek community in the United States. It is also well known for its sea sponge industry. Sponge fishing is a trade that has been around in this area of Florida since the early 1800’s. You can’t walk through this small town without experiencing the Greek customs, it’s wonderful Greek food and sponges of every shape and size.

Jim and I have been to Tarpon Springs before. It’s the place we landed after we made our 22 hour trek across the Gulf of Mexico on our Great Loop adventure. Coming back here was nostalgic. We had met some friends back then who live in the city, and it was fun for me to meet up with Teri and go to a meeting with her. Jim and I also attended a gratitude meeting on Thanksgiving day. That’s always a good way to spend time . We watched a sunset over the Gulf on one of the nights and had a nice stroll and dinner in Dunedin. Another small waterfront city here in Florida.

We went to a arts and crafts festival one day. As we walked we came across St. Nicholas Greek Cathedral.

I wanted to see the inside, so in we went. To our surprise, there was an authentic service going on. The church was so beautiful. We sat down in the back pews and stayed for the whole service. It was so stunning and special. Most of it was spoken in Greek by the priest. There was song and beautiful traditional music being sung. After, we met with a gentleman who is the caretaker of the cathedral. He was impressed we stayed the whole service. He proceeded to tell us all about the Greek community and how very special this church is. He allowed us to ask many questions and was just the nicest man ever.

As we left, we lit a candle and prayed for Jim’s health and the wellbeing of all those we love.

We had a very nice get away and enjoyed all the places we went.

Now, Christmas is upon us one more time. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes as I get older. The hustle and bustle is in full speed now. Gifts to get to the kids and grandkids, a Gratitude party with our tribe, which will be our 3rd annual event and the countdown to our Panama Canal cruise which we will take in January!

We are blessed beyond words to be able to travel and enjoy life the way we do. We’ve had a rough few months with Jim’s cancer journey, but, trust and believe, we aren’t going to let that stop our lives or put a damper on things. Jim is a fighter and I, as his wife am right by his side. We are a team. We’ve proven that over and over again.

Merry Christmas to you all. May peace be with you and all those you love.