An actual weekend getaway!

My first overnight outing went well overall even if I decided to go home a day early.

I got to experience this sunrise from the cabin I like so much in Brasstown, North Carolina. It was a lot more pink than this but from the time I noticed and grabbed my phone in the next room and got to the front porch, the pink was fading fast.

Before the trip I wondered whether I could make a bed comfortable enough (I have an adjustable bed at home) and whether the seating at the house would be okay for my painful body.

One was fine. One was not.

Enough pillows can make a bed pretty comfy. But I really need a recliner if I'm going to be anywhere for a long while. So that plus feeling yucky sent me home early.

The trip started to take form a few weeks ago...

...when on a whim I looked to see if the cabin I like happened to be open anytime soon. And sure enough there was some open time in June. But the owner only books for a minimum of five nights unless it's very close to booking time. I knew five nights would be too long.

Long story short...it worked out for me to book that favorite cabin for three nights and for a friend to go with me. We both are in situations where a getaway trip would be a blessing after difficult life stretches, so the timing felt just right.

The test for me was fatigue as well as comfort getting to and from and while at this cabin.

It's a two-hour drive but the drive there and back was no problem. Getting the bed comfortable (including a wedge I took) went just fine. I was tired but not overly so.

But the seating ended up being not quite comfy enough. I spent most of the time stretched out on a sofa and that got old pretty quickly.

I'd probably have made it for the three nights I booked even with the seating but late the second night my pretty-common misery kicked in. Sweating, unhappy digestive system, painful joints, general yuck. I'd been feeling better for most of the preceding week. But that night things took a turn.

If I'm going to be miserable, I'd rather be miserable at home.

So my friend graciously agreed to head back a day early. And VERY graciously to do all of the car packing.

I was good and tired at this point, along with feeling miserable. But I did fine on the drive back (my friend also did all of the driving). She got my things unloaded. And I rested.

And rested. And rested.

I was worn out. And still feeling rotten. After a couple of days of tired and rotten I perked up some yesterday. But then I sweated ALL night last night. And my digestive system was not happy, still isn't. So today is a little rough.

That's how it goes. Up and down. Good and not-so-good.

BUT add a weekend outing! One I enjoyed even if I cut it short.

I've made a lot of progress.

And once again I am grateful.

For long-time friendship. For sunrises. For cozy cabins. For mountain views. For meds that slow the cancer I have.

For so much!!

I'll end this post with a photo of morning sunshine lighting the painting over the mantle at the cabin. I was lying on the couch and noticed. It felt as if the sun were a little spotlight for the painting at just at that specific time of day. And that specific time of year. Like at Stonehenge or Newgrange.

Kind of magical.

The same way my life itself feels pretty darn often—even (maybe especially) in the midst of this cancer journey.

Kind of magical!