Well, it has been a rough, really rough, couple of weeks. And, once again, my beloved friend, Taylor Swift, helped me through it. What JOY she brings me.
How to explain all this? An abnormal mammogram, followed by more abnormal mammograms, followed by biopsies, and before I know it, I am being escorted into the O.R. for a lumpectomy. Welcome to your new home.
The pain was, well, really painful. Imagine this: a very sensitive body part is squeezed in a vice while a doctor inserts a needle, a needle! OK, got through that. No, wait, now we have to do the other side. It makes me woozy just thinking about it. Then surgery. Surgery! Then the excruciating wait for the results.
But, in the end, the results were negative! Negative means nothing awful lurking beneath my skin. Negative means a positive outcome, and I can get on with my new life in my new home. Whew!
My surgery was Thursday. I told my daughter, Christine (many of you know her as Allison), that I wanted to celebrate the end of all this poking, prodding, stabbing, cutting and waiting by going to see, who else?, Taylor Swift. Those of you who know me, know that Taylor is my hero. In case you missed it, you can listen here to my Taylor story on “The Moth Radio Hour”: Marty Steps Out. (After you open the page, click on “Listen Here”).
I simply love Taylor Swift. Love her music. Her lyrics. Her style. Her joy in performing. And I really don’t care if she is dating “Mr. NFL-what’s-his-name”. I hope he is good to her.
During the days of waiting for surgery, I had taken some time to think about how I would celebrate being done with all this stuff. I looked up movies, and there it was: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”. Opening night! I knew right then and there that God was looking after me. I called Christine and told her we were going to a movie Friday night. And of course, my darling super-girl daughter said yes!
The movie was Friday night, a day after my surgery. I was exhausted, but determined. I was embarrassed to be going to a Taylor Swift concert in sweats, but that was the best I could muster. Imagine my pleasure seeing Christine in her sweats! She had had a long 12-hour workday, and she too was exhausted. Two old (well, one young, one old) fuddy-duds going to a concert.
I had heard a commentator on NPR describe his experience of seeing this movie in LA. Lots of screaming fans, phones, singing, a near riot. I told Christine that I could not take more than an hour of that, and we would be leaving early if we needed to. She agreed.
Turns out our audience was very well behaved. No screaming, no singing along, no flashing photos. This is Sioux Falls, after all.
Taylor was amazing. I smiled, I gasped, I even cried. An incredible talent surrounded by dancers, back-up singers, band members, mind-blowing costumes, set changes, and yes, screaming fans. It was just what I needed to take my mind off the past weeks’ woes.
So, I thank Taylor Swift for once again, giving me great JOY.
And I thank God, for my health, my family, my line dance family, and all my friends who were able to accompany me on this journey.
