Ugh. Here we go again...

My mother's reaction to her chemotherapy has taken a sudden nose dive. On Mother's Day she had to be hosptialized due to the ill-effects of the chemo.

Instead of killing the little bit of cancer left in her body, it was killing her.

It was then that I had to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the 2011 Seminar.
Why?
I want someone else to be selected to go in my place. 
*big sigh* 

Now I'm starting to see similarities with family cancer-care and with my dream to someday visit India on a Fulbright-Hays Seminar.

They are both long journeys, in a way...

And with ANY long journey, I have to:

• stay organized;
• stay informed;
• accept the fact that there is no straight and simple path;
• never ever assume anything; and
• always expect the unexpected.

I want to thank my friends and colleagues for your prayers and kind wishes.

When the world says, "Give up,"

Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

~Author Unknown

My Journey Has Ended

Mom has always been very supportive and proud of my work.
She has been very excited by my upcoming journey to India.

But these past two days have been nothing less than a nightmare:

My mother has suddenly fallen gravely ill to a cancer that went undetected for too long.

Today, as Mom lies in her hospital bed, I've decided I can not make my journey to India.
Instead, it's now my turn to support my mother, and help her along with her sad and scary journey with cancer.

If you want to follow my Fulbright-Hays colleagues on their trip, you can view their blog here. I fully intend to learn from them, and feel their thrill, at least vicariously, by reading their upcoming blog posts. I hope you will too.

Theme Thursday: Teacher's Pet

When I go to India this summer, I'm going to miss my family.
I'm also going to miss my very old dog.
Her name is Pretty.

She is a Chihuahua, mixed with something else.
My Partner rescued her as a young pup at the animal shelter almost 20 years ago. I've had the pleasure of living with him and her for the past 12 years now.
There's something painfully poignant about elderly pets.
We care for them as babies. 
If you want to see more Theme Thursday blog posts, visit ThemeThursday.
Thank you for visiting my blog!
Namaste!