My sister is my heart...

As I approach the finish line of my chemo journey, I feel incredibly blessed.  Don't get me wrong, it's been the hardest thing I've ever done.  But never has any experience had such a profound effect on my faith and my perspective than breast cancer.  I have realized how many caring and loving people I have around me.  It has strengthened some relationships and given me a desire to strengthen others.  I have realized that I want to live my life focused only on what truly matters to me, like the people I love.

Today I am feeling grateful for my little sister, who surprised me yesterday morning and rode the train all the way to Sacramento in the middle of the night to be here for my last chemo treatment.  When I got up in the morning and came out to the kitchen she was sitting in my living room.  Can you beat that?  She gave me the book, Promise Me written by Susan G Komen's sister, and inside she wrote the most beautiful poem about sisters.  It's a long one but I just have to include it because it's so great...

My Sister
My sister is my heart.
She opens doors to rooms
I never knew were there,
Breaks through walls
I don't recall building.
She lights my darkest corners
With the sparkle in her eyes.

My sister is my soul.
She inspires my weary spirit
To fly on wings of angels
But while I hold her hand
My feet never leave the ground.
She stills my deepest fears
With the wisdom of her song.

My sister is my past.
She writes my history
In her eyes I recognize myself,
memories only we can share.
She remembers, she forgives
She accepts me as I am
with tender understanding.

My sister is my future.
She lives within my dreams
She sees my undiscovered secrets,
believes in me as I stumble
She walks in step beside me,
Her love lighting my way.

My sister is my strength.
She hears the whispered prayers
that I cannot speak
She helps me find my smile
Freely giving hers away
She catches my tears
in her gentle hands.

My sister is like no one else.
She's my most treasured friend
Filling up my empty spaces
Healing broken places
She is my rock, my inspiration
Though impossible to define,
In a word, she is...my sister.
                        -Lisa Lorden

Thank you my sweet sister for being here for me from the very start.  Watching me in the hospital with a flashlight to make sure I was breathing because of the pain meds, staying awake all night to make sure the nurses did their job, getting in the shower with me when I got home to help me with the drains so I wouldn't have to look, coming all the way down to Sacramento over and over during this time to be with me and lend a helping hand, crying on the phone while I was talking to you when I realized my hair was falling out, making me cute scarves to wear instead of the old lady ones they sell at the wig store, and just being you...  You make me laugh so much.  You are a wonderful sister and my most "treasured friend".  I don't know what I would do without you and I am constantly in awe of you.  I will be there to hold your hand through your surgery in January.  I know we can do it!  Just one last hurdle and then it's celebration time!

Last chemo treat-Tuesday 10/26!