Today is Britt's Birthday

Today is Britt's 38th Birthday, and it marks the 12th Birthday I have celebrated with her. We will be having a special dinner with a 2 couples who are flying in from Portland this weekend. Birthdays are very special to Britt, in part I think because they are so close to Halloween. This has meant we have thrown or participated in quite a few Halloween parties over the past twelve years. She is very demanding about our costumes. Since I have known her she has gone as Mrs. Roper from "Three's Company", Martha Stewart (or prisoner # 96356), Million Dollar Baby Boxer, and we have dressed as couples, as The Mass Turnpike (don't ask, but we won second prize), Anthony and Cleopatra, a surgeon and his patient, Sigfried and a White Tiger (topical as always), and my personal favorite a Cheeseburger (we won 1st prize for that one). I personally am feeling less pressure to not have to come up with a costume this year, but I am really looking forward to the dinner.

Birthdays are a time for reflection for both the past year, and for the progress we have made in our lives. This birthday has so much extra meaning, that I have been reflecting on both in regards to Britt over the past 3 days. First the past year; Last December as some of you know I had a high blood pressure scare, I was rushed to the hospital with blood pressure of 220 over 110. To say this was scary was an understatement, but my biggest fear in the ambulance on the way to the hospital was never seeing Britt again. To make a long story short the Doctors don't have any idea what happened except to say the combination of stress, extra weight, and bad diet caused my body to send a warning signal. As Britt walked into the Emergency room that night, we both cried, and I made a vow to change my life. With her support I have lost over 55 pounds, and kept it off. My blood pressure and cholesterol are within normal ranges and I am exercising regularly. I used to joke that I would work hard, play hard and flameout early, but the truth is, I could not be without her.

The day after I passed the 50lb mark we received the diagnosis that Britt had Breast Cancer, talk about you world crashing down around you. In typical fashion Britt was strong as a rock. She was adamant that she would not be described as a Cancer Victim, and only wanted to focus on the course of action necessary to get to end result of being Cancer Free. It is a testament to who she is that three days after she had her Lumpectomy she insisted we go on our planned family vacation to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Some of you did not, or might not understand this, after all she had Cancer how could we just up and go on Vacation. First of all there was no treatments they would do for us during this time, secondly Britt felt that to cancel would be to give in. She didn't want to sit around all day feeling sorry for herself, and she didn't want her family to feel sorry for her either. I myself was feeling pretty sorry for myself, but it's hard to look at Britt doing a hike, or playing with the girls in the Merced River, or watching a sunset over Tahoe and not gain strength from it.

As regular readers know the rest of the summer was played out in a series of increasingly frustrating set of Doctor's appointments, PET/MRIs, and follow ups. What you might not know is that Britt has acted as her own scheduler, document gatherer, information officer and chief advocate. She has had to negotiate a tangled bureaucracy of three different hospitals, 8 different doctors, and a myriad of insurance issues. For the most part she has handled this the way she handles everything, straight forward with a strength and resiliency that is amazing.

Today and this week I celebrate Britt, the love of my life. I celebrate her not because of the cancer but because today, as on every October 30th, (and quite frankly quite a few other days as well), she reminds me of what it is like to be a great wife, mother, and person. I draw from the well of her strength regularly in times of weakness, I marvel at her ability to stay the course in rough seas, and I bask in the warmth of her love for me and the girls.

Happy Birthday Britt