These are the days when I wish I had long hair

This weekend, Dashing’s cousin will be getting married – a black tie event. Dashing will look dashing in his full bow-tie tux and 5 o’clock shadow. I will showcase a cocktail length black fitted dress with classic sleeves and a great  pair of black patent leather peep-toe heels………AND sporting my I-didn't-choose-it short hair style/cut. I never have been a short haired girl, so that's what makes this even tougher. To me, events like this scream for me to have long hair (Hence, I wore a long wig at my own wedding).

I want the LC waves

Source: people.com via BreAnn on Pinterest

or georgeous updo bun

Source: andeelayne.blogspot.com via Brittiany on Pinterest

or a trendy side style

Source: google.com via Jenna on Pinterest

So these are the days when I am again upset, dare I say even a little angry, that I had I had to go through this.

Those days will never leave my memory, and my hair is still a constant physical reminder of what happened only 18 months ago.

These are the days when I wish I had long hair - long hair because it would mean this never happened.

Another Milestone

Yesterday, I visited my Oncologist at the Arizona Cancer Center for my regular 3 month check up. Another clean bill of health, another reason to celebrate life! 

Me standing next to a photograph in the Arizona Cancer Center
that was donated in my name as a survivor by Dashing's parents.

I can tell you that a fantastic treat to go along with any celebration is this recipe for Better than Sex Cake.

Source: allrecipes.com via Sara on Pinterest

A Little Victory Dance

It has been one year since my last treatment. I've been thinking about it for the past two weeks. The twist - apparently everyone I know was too.

On Saturday, Dashing and I were supposed to have dinner with his parents, his sister, her husband, and 2 family friends from out of town. We spent that day hanging out with our friend Zach watching the fantastic Butler basketball game at a great pizza place enjoying the 70 degree air and warm sun (sitting in the shade to avoid UV rays though !). Slowly, we made it to Dashing's parents' house and Zach went to "dinner with his grandparents". However, I didn't find the family ready to go to dinner, instead, I found a backyard filled with family and friends.  I wasn't sure quite what was going on. I turned to Dashing and he was just smiling, not surprised at all, so I stood there in a little bit of shock. I said something to the effect of "what's going on?" and he replied, it's for you - you're one year past your treatments, this is to celebrate you victory. WHAT?! Excited and shocked, I started greeting and thanking everyone for coming one by one only to find a friend from Texas and another from Colorado who had come to visit followed by my Dad from Indiana. How incredibly special. I was so humbled that all of these friends and family were there to celebrate me. I truly should have been throwing them a party in thanks for all of the support they have given me through my journey. I turned to Zach, who we spent the entire day with, and said YOU KNEW THE ENTIRE DAY? How long have you all been planning this ....."Oh, for about 2-3 months." I am SO impressed that 75 people were able to keep a secret through baby showers (Miss E's), birthday parties, and family get together. I had no idea my friends and family could be so sneaky. And another fantastic surprise of the day, Dashing (the eternal non-planner), with the help of his family, put it all together...and kept it a secret! Ok Dashing - you did earn some bonus points here. Kudos.

Thank you to all who celebrated with me or sent me cheers electronically. I love you all.

I'm just glad I wasn't wearing something ridiculous!

Ready to Roll the Dice

I gasped for air, doubled over on the exam table. “Honey, you’re hyperventilating.”

The organ roared, the notes of Pachelbel echoed off the ceiling beams, and I took that first step in my pink pearl, peep toe pumps.

” Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” - Unknown

These two moments happened in the last calendar year of my life. One year ago today, I was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma). A devastating moment that took my breath away in the form of hyperventilation. In one afternoon, my whole understanding of life changed – actually, I don't think I understood much of anything that afternoon. The other, the moment on July 10, 2010 of true bliss as I walked down the aisle to dashing, my future husband; father on my right, God above. Both of these life defining moments have taken my breath away. The devastation and the harmony of these moments have changed me for the better: more compassionate, more patient, more poised.

Here today, is the start of a new side of my blog as I, Sara Cate, am now an updated model of my old self. (Sweetly using the word ‘model’ as a homograph as I am also modeling my new pixie hair).The mode of change was ignited by a four key pieces: Dream, Inspire, Communicate, and Explore (I’m lovingly calling this DICE). This includes dreams for the future as well as those while I count sheep - inspiration from family, photographs, and blogs - communication with family, friends, and my husband (Dashing) - and Exploration of who I am and who I want to be.


So, let’s roll the DICE and see what’s in store, shall we?

New Beginnings

Dear family, friends, and supporters,

After a long hiatus from my blog, I finally have re-gained the excitement of writing. The telling of a personal life story can be quite exhausting. Sometimes, it was therapeutic, while other times it meant re-hashing details I didn't want to remember. I just needed to retreat to my family.

So, here I am, strong of mind and heart with a renewed energy AND not to mention... a PET scan result that says I'm cancer free! I face the world with a different attitude, and am learning how to function with this new outlook. I possess much more empathy and peace these days. However, my patience level fluctuates. See, I have much more patience for sensitive situations, much less for meaningless ones. This Leo sometimes has to be tamed ;) I struggle when people make excuses for themselves and want to shake them to understand that they can do something about it - make every day a special one.

I'm learning how to essentially forgive others for not having gone through a traumatic experience or excuse them for not knowing what I've been going through. I'm hoping this is a normal post-trauma thing to experience?? I do recognize what is wrong with the picture - I'm just being honest with what runs through my head sometimes when I encounter mean or ungrateful or faith-less people. Work in progress I suppose :) On the other side of patience and understanding, I no longer get frustrated when someone takes the elevator up one floor or maybe scoops up the last close parking space - I don't know what their story is...maybe they needed it...just like I did at one point. You just never know someone's story. Also, if you do learn about someone's story, share your support. Some of the most touching moments during all of this were the ones that complete strangers hugged me or offered me prayers. What a generous and caring world we DO live in. It gave me reassurance and hope. Please share love and faith with others who need it.

In continuing my new beginnings, I have accepted a new job in a warm, welcoming office. This position will offer me the opportunity to be supported, to grow, and to continue to establish my new self. In addition, I have started to grow my stationery/invitation business Sincerely Sara Cate - 3 weddings and many notecard orders have been filled! Website soon to come....once I figure out all the nuances to building a website - much tougher than I thought! I am so thankful that through my life experiences, I recognized what makes me and have made changes in my career path to reflect that.

Now, onto what I would consider the most special new beginning... Dashing and my wedding! As you know, we were engaged on his birthday, December 18th. We will be tying the knot on July 10, 2010. OH SO SOON! We've got most things in order, and are just finalizing details at this point. Another new beginning moment.... I've got Dashing taking dance lessons! Now that is big! I think he has started many new beginnings right along side me. We have continued to grow closer with stronger support, understanding, and most importantly, love. We are enjoying every moment of our engagement from reading books together that our Pastor assigned to picking out centerpiece details (although agreeing on registry items has been a little bit more challenging, but fun none-the-less).

In reading about someone else's experience with cancer, I have adopted this explanation to wrap up this part of my life and move forward to the next....

I don't think I'll ever be able to say that I'm glad I've had cancer, but I must say that I am so glad and thankful for all of the wonderful changes it has brought to my life. My relationships with family and friends has grown stronger. I have been able to identify what makes me happy and ensure that all parts of my life contribute to my happiness. My relationship with Dashing has bloomed into an even more loving, caring, and supportive one - I am so happy to be spending the rest of my life with him. These are wishes many people hope to gain in a lifetime - and I've been able to do just that.

Thank you for all the support, encouragement, strength, and love you all have given me. You all have shown me the kind of compassion that I didn't think even existed. So, here is me, signing off on the old Sara Cate, and welcoming new beginnings. This fall, I will be transforming this blog into a new Sincerely Sara Cate to help me continue to find inspiration in the things I love. I hope you will join me on that journey.

Sincerely,

Sara Cate

My friends are fabulous

My best friend, Lizy, told me she was going to come over for a surprise visit. Little did I know, she actually meant our whole group of girlfriends. The doorbell rang a few times, and then the girls presented me with a gift. A gift truly from the heart.Each friend decorated a fabric square and then made it into a quilt. Even friends from New York and Chicago had their hand in this. How lucky I am to have friends that are so thoughtful and caring. I love you girls!

The End is Just the Beginning

As a movie comes to a close, and the film fades out, two words scroll across the screen to signify the happily ever after...The End. Although I finished my last round of chemotherapy, The End is not here.

On January 6, I received my final chemotherapy infusion. Although this was such a wonderful feeling knowing I was done, the event that matched it was throwing out Mr. PICC. Yes, you heard it from me. Mr. PICC is GONE. So after all of these events, the infusion nurses threw me a celebration "Bubble Party". I felt on top of the world.

PICC Line Removal - I braced myself for pain, but it didn't end up hurting at all!
Celebrating at the Bubble Party

Then the next chapter came - radiation. On January 13th, I met with my radiation oncologist (Dr. T). During that appointment, I got my tattoo - which I am happy to report is the size of a small pen dot. You would never notice it! Whew. I'll be starting radiation in the beginning of February - 5 days a week for 4 weeks.

Now I want to talk about the reality of it all. Although I responded beautifully to chemotherapy and really had a lot of great feeling days, I can't even think about chemotherapy without feeling sick to my stomach. This last round was definitely the toughest, and I had 2 dates with the toilet. I still don't have a taste for many foods and tire easily. My skin is very pale, my eyebrows are weak, and I've lost some eyelashes (I'm not sure if that's due to the treatment or stress - regardless, they're gone). My hair did not survive.

This photo was difficult for me to post because I don't want it to be real, but it is, and I want to share the truth with you. I frequently think about how much hair I'll have when Dashing and I get married.

So since THE END of chemotherapy, I have the next 2 weeks to recoup and recover before I BEGIN radiation.

The Quintessential Christmas

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of holiday cheer. I was able to spend the holiday's with family enjoying the true meaning of Christmas, and thanking God for all the wonderful people He has put in my life.

I also love seeing all of the Christmas lights and holiday decor this time of year - it makes me smile. So in pursuit of these scenes, I came across the oddest Christmas scene...Uncle Sam, Santa Claus, Baby Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. Who knew they all lived during the same time!
During this holiday time, I had my 7th treatment. Just this past week, Dashing looked at me and oh-so-delicately told me that I am finally starting to take on the look of a cancer patient. My skin is so pale, dark circles have formed around my eyes, and a bluish tint has settled into my skin. Luckily, as a female, it is perfectly acceptable for me to attempt to cover these things up with make-up. So, these days, I'm feeling like I could use a make-up artist around.

For a little bit of a pick me up, Dashing, the Entourage, and I went to the happiest place on Earth for the New Year's weekend...Disneyland. From the sounds of Main Street's singing quartet to the sparkle of the castle's icicle lights - I love it all.
So now this week, I will prepare for my final chemotherapy treatment. Although I'm so excited to have this portion of the treatment over - I'm still not excited to go through even one more round of this. Knowing that you will have to battle through the next week is daunting, and then knowing radiation is to come is challenging to face. Sometimes I think it's easier to not know what you're going to be up against.

I will prevail; I will be a stronger person after this. I know it.

Who brought the Grinch to Christmas?

In my last post, I shared with you all great news about my PET scan results. I am still over the moon about how my chemotherapy treatments have gone thus far - but not really looking forward to 2 more rounds. So, in preparation for chemo wrap-up, I had to visit with a radiation oncologist to discuss my second part of treatment. After chemotherapy, I will have approximately 20 sessions of radiation to put the last nail in my cancer coffin. The radiation oncologist was wonderful, understanding, and explained everything in detail. Feeling pretty good about what was to come, I nodded in agreement with the process as my entourage (Dashing, Glenda, Dashing's dad, my dad) closely listened in.

I then asked "What will be the daily routine when I come in?" The doctor says, you'll be in and out in 30 minutes most days (I'm thinking fantastic!). For the first few times, there will be some additional planning needed." The doctor continues..."On the first visit, we'll give you some markings to properly line you up on the radiation table for each visit." Dashing's dad (who is an ER doc) is known for his sarcasm and one liners; he pipes up and says,"Now Sara, you know these will be permanent tattoos." I chuckle and say, "Oh sure Mark," and waive my hand as to nonchalantly wave it off. Then I see the look on his face and my grin quickly disappears - "Oh, you're serious."

So readers, the Grinch officially arrived with the notification of my upcoming nuptials with some nice blue tattoo dots on my neck/chest area. Just tally them up to some more battle scars. Ugh.

Here is a picture posted online as to what these tattoos look like. I can have them removed later on with a supposed simple plastic surgery visit. I'm just not a tattoo girl, never wanted one. In the holiday spirit, can't I just get a Santa Claus temporary tattoo instead???

Christmas came early

Do not fret! Santa did not come down my chimney before any of yours. However, I did get a few of great presents early.

Last weekend, two of my dearest out-of-state friends, Miss. Emily B and Miss. Josie, flew out to AZ for a fantastic weekend. Throughout this whole experience, both of them have been so overwhelmingly supportive. They are wonderful friends, and I am so thankful to have them in my life.

This weekend, my dad came into town from Indiana to experience my chemotherapy treatment visit, and of course see me. I'm sure he didn't mind the warmer AZ weather either.

And finally, the most important health present was a report. Last week, I had to get a PET scan to determine how my tumors were responding to cancer. I got a very rare report that after only 5 chemotherapy treatments, my tumors have stopped growing, started reducing in size, and my previously active cancer cells are ALL stunned/killed! This is called a "negative PET" which is the best present that my friends, family, and I could receive this Christmas. Almost as great was my oncologist's facial expression when he heard about the negative report...priceless!

So Merry Christmas to all, and I hope for each one of you a happy holiday season and a new year filled with health and happiness.

Black Friday

This past Wednesday, I had my 5th chemotherapy treatment - I can't believe it! I've been responding well to treatment and am still in the best of hands with my friends and family. I have to say that I've gotten used to being the patient in all sense of the word - at home and in the hospitals. However, I got a taste of what it's like to be on the other side of the hospital bed this Thanksgiving's Black Friday.

On Thursday, the entourage headed up to northern Arizona to spend Thanksgiving in the high country. Thanksgiving was moved to Saturday to accommodate every one's schedules. When you're with a medical family - you learn to change the date of holidays frequently. Dashing's sister, Miss E, then started having complaints of stomach pains, and by Friday morning, Dashing and his Dad had determined that Miss E would be appendix-less by the end of the day. Yes, Miss E had a head on collision with appendicitis. This was the start of Black Friday. We headed over to the emergency room (which luckily Dashing's dad runs) and Miss E was prepped for surgery after a positive CT scan. As she was lying in the hospital bed, I started to understand what my family and friends feel as I am going through my treatments.

The uncertainty overwhelmed me and I felt quite helpless. I tried to find ways to keep the Miss E's spirits up with the little things, like loaning her socks and reading magazines. I felt like this was my opportunity to give Miss E support like she has been giving me for the past few months.

As a medical student, Dashing was able to actually stand in and watch Miss E's surgery, which was a success. I am happy to report that Miss E is recovering fabulously and demanded to go out to a Mexican dinner only a few hours after surgery. What a trooper!

So, this Thanksgiving especially, I want to THANK every friend, family, and blog friend for your support and love. It makes all the difference.

A part of something bigger

For an initial update, I did go to the state fair and rolled around in a wheelchair to enjoy my favorites of corn on the cob and elephant ears. It was fantastic.

Now onto what I want to share with you....

On Friday, I woke up planning on attending what physicians call a "noon conference" at a nearby hospital with my fertility doctor. The office had invited me to attend with them to hear some presentations about what new options are arising for patients facing fertility issues due to surgeries and treatments (like me). When Glenda and I arrived, I quickly learned that not only was I invited to attend, but they wanted me to tell my story as an advocate for education on fertility preservation options for cancer patients. I was quite caught off guard, but was honored to be a part of something bigger. I've been racking my brain to find a way to make my experience more than just survival, and it landed in my lap - how often does that happen? I shared my experience with the hospital staff starting with my diagnosis and how fertility preservation has given me a sense of calmness, security, and hope for the future. See, I am not at the stage of my life that I am ready to have children - but I am not ok with the possibility of losing that chance because of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The challenge here is that most women facing treatments like these are never exposed to the options they have in fertility preservation - and may not even be informed that the treatments they are about to endure may affect her fertility. To put it this way, the first oncologist I visited had a nurse practitioner give me a 10 minute presentation on all the horrible things that could happen to me, but never mentioned the possibility of infertility - why!? Well, I hope to assist in my fertility doctor's quest to gain support from the medical community and spread awareness to the public about fertility preservation for patients to prevent the loss of the amazing gift of fertility, or as the movie "Couple's Retreat" would put it, saving the "earth." I'm good with that :)

Post script: My hair has been falling out in massive clumps and I had to cut my hair to about an inch long. I'm not ready to share photos of this near crew cut. Just know I'm getting use of my baseball caps and wig.

Pressing on

This past weekend, I went on an outing to the more indie film theater to see a film June Bug, Dashing's grandma, wanted to see. Typically you'd think a grandparent would want to see some slow, lackluster film. No such thing with June Bug. She had me and Glenda join her for a trip to see Coco Before Channel. It was a wonderfully done subtitled movie with so much ambition. One line stood out specifically for me. A main character in the movie said to Coco that when a woman cuts her hair, her life will change. I can stand by that line!

On Wednesday, I had my third chemotherapy treatment. I'm getting used to the drive to Tucson, the check-in process, and the treatment regimen. However, this time was extra special! Instead of sitting in the pods of recliners, I was pleasantly surprised that this time I got to have a private room! Usually these are reserved for very ill people or patients that must receive treatment lying down. They were slow that morning -so I benefited from it. See these private rooms have a bed and tv. So plush! Take a look - it looks like a hospital room, I know, but it is so comfortable!

After treatment on Wednesdays, Dashing's aunt is sweet enough to have dinner ready for the entourage when we arrive home after our long day of travel and treatment. She does this every week - what a kind heart she has. This week's menu included pasta, homemade meatballs, dinner rolls, caesar salad, and wine. So delicious!

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm headed on another outing to the Arizona State Fair tonight. I may be rolling in a wheelchair, but hey - it's worth it for their elephant ears and corn on the cob!

They tell me...

They told me there would be side effects. However, I never could have expected nor understood the crazy side effects that would come with chemotherapy. I wanted to share with you some of the wild things I've felt over the past 4 weeks that just don't make sense.

1. Appetite increase or decrease: They told me my appetite would change. Some days I'm not interested in anything, while other days I'm hungry all day. The oddest thing is when I'm so hungry, but am so full I'm about to burst. How is that even possible?? I told Dashing about my insatiable hunger and his response, "Welcome to my life." I had no idea!

2. Comfort: They told me I may not always feel comfortable. I didn't think that meant hot and cold flashes, or both together. Yes, sometimes I feel hot AND cold at the same time. Again, I'm not sure how this is possible, but it happens. One minute I'll be wrapped up like an Eskimo in a snow storm and the next I'm debating putting on a swim suit.

3. Sleeping patterns: They told me I may get insomnia. I am sometimes so tired, yet can't get a wink of sleep. During chemotherapy, they give me steroids for a variety of reasons that have completely messed up my sleeping patterns. Then, they say don't take naps of more than an hour or things will get more screwy. Ugh.

What's to come, they say I'll lose my hair on day 21. That's tomorrow. Nothing's happened yet; however, no one is willing to bet that it won't happen. More to come.

Adventures in Hair

I promised photos of my new short haircut and my new wig...so here they are!!

From left: new way short haircut; new wig; me and Glenda (in a wig)

You can see that this whole wig experience has been a fun one. I think Dashing was jealous of the fun, so he proceeded to join in too. I think he resembles a member of an 80's hairband.

Montage

So I've been behind on updating everyone with my treatments - but I figure you all will give me some slack here. In order to pack everything into a nice little post package, I'll attempt to do a montage. Who doesn't like that?? I'll do small clips of things that have happened. If you want more about something specific, leave me a comment about it and I'll include details in my next post.

Fertility egg retrieval last Tuesday (Sept.29): They knocked me out with crazy drugs - don't remember anything, but now have little lovelies frozen in a locker under high security protection. No chemo will get to them in there!

First chemotherapy treatment last Wednesday (Sept. 30): It's like a big living room with recliners and family hanging out. Just includes lots of tubes, beepings, and chemicals.

The next day: You would expect the next few days to be tough, but they really weren't that bad!!! I have lost my sweet tooth....is that possible....apparently so!

Complications: This has been the worst of it all. I am one of the lucky few that had complications from the fertility hormones and have horded fluid in my body. Essentially I have a little more than an inch of fluid surrounding my lungs called plural effusion and lots of fluid in my belly. AT LEAST 4 pounds of it!!! I had to go to the emergency room to find this out because I was coughing, short of breath, and couldn't lie down. Luckily, Dashing's uncle is a local ER doc too - so we just went to see him. Perfect, I know! Unfortunately, I just have to wait for my body to dispel this fluid because they don't want to stick a needle in me to remove it because of the chance of infection. Whew, I'm out of breath from just re-reading my work. Yesterday I had to take a break for air from walking down the house hallway while holding the cat. I wonder what Wii would say my activity age level is now!

What's on the horizon? A haircut on Thursday, or should I say chop? and wig fitting on Friday (photos to come). Hopefully fluid disposal is also on this list. I haven't laid down in 3 days!!!

A little letter

Dear local drug store pharmacy,

As a now regular patron of your pharmacy, you have proven to uphold your part of the bargain to act as my drug dealer to dispense my drugs as prescribed. You have shown that my expectation of this service is not out of line.

However, during a recent visit to your established drug dispensing counter, I was at a loss of words for the encounter that ensued. The prescription that I had dropped off 2 hours prior had not been filled or even reviewed. At this time, you told me that my insurance coverage had been terminated as of the previous day. As a young woman beginning the battle against cancer, I do not have the extra energy to inquire and investigate this claim, and a discontinuation of insurance would be devastating to me during my current medical condition. After some tears and some phone call attempts on my part, you miraculously found the right code to enter and all is well and good. Well, no it is not. You have caused me undue harm and distress which resulted in me vomiting on the brick outside your front doors. Enjoy the clean-up.

Signed,
The Vomiter

Insecurities

Deep sigh.......
My self esteem is close to hitting bottom, maybe more like the bottom of a pool's deep end bottom, not bottom of a deep canyon bottom, but it's still the bottom of something. While on the subject, I feel like my bottom is doubling as you read this. As I eat, and am forbidden to exercise. I feel lazy and lethargic. My arm has an ugly picc line in it (it no longer hurts thought and shout out to Ashley Paige - I now have vet's plastic sleeves for the shower! Work great!). I'm breaking out on my face from the fertility dr's hormones plus they say I look 2-3 months pregnant (I'm not) because my ovaries are almost triple in size right now. I'm Casper-ly pale from lack of sunlight (a push to ensure I don't get skin cancer), and since I'll be losing my hair in a few mere weeks - I haven't cut or colored it and let's just say the roots aren't pretty. Needless to say, I'm a little down and totally insecure. Please don't think I'm vain, I just don't feel so awesome.

My TiVo has been returned

TiVo Consumer satisfaction: Low
A detailed update is called for as I have failed to inform you that TiVo is so last season.

We, as society, hold physicians (and lawyers) up as idols. Mothers want their daughters to marry one, parents are proud of the children for being one, and the community recognizes their dedication and determination in the field. I think this contributes to the amount of trust and leeway we give to our doctors. My entourage was referred to TiVo through another physician, and we immediately bit on the opportunity to get into an oncologist so quickly. Our experience with our initial meeting went just fine, with some minor irritations. Refer to my previous post for a detailed explanation of the visit. Although it wasn't the best visit, it didn't really occur to me that in this country, under our current health care - I can CHOOSE to see a different oncologist (This can also be considered a battle cry to not have government health care). I just accepted what I had. Then, Dashing's Dean of the Medical School suggested we seek a second opinion from a contact of his; we jumped on board (another example of how humanity is good - the Dean of a medical school helping me?? Wow, I am so thankful).

We had a fantastic visit at the University of Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson with Dr. Thomas Miller, a lymphoma specialist. Literally - he only treats lymphoma. He is THE expert in this, and not only does he have the knowledge and experience, but he is also caring, explains everything, and is willing to chat! This wonderful experience showed me that TiVo was vastly under-performing in his duties to see me as a young woman battling cancer, but instead as just another patient whom he needs to quickly see and move on. ICK. The Tucson center is beautiful and has a lot of perks that TiVo's office couldn't offer (like having someone sit with me during Chemo - TiVo didn't have this feature).

My point is, do not settle on anything in life if it isn't in your best interest. Hence, my TiVo has been returned.

5 things I never though would happen at 25

5. Inquire about wigs and Rogaine
4. Be on church prayer lists
3. Talk about my eggs over omelets
2. Move into my boyfriend's parents house
1. Be told I'm an inspiration