Just 10 Days

I am amazed by what can happen in just 10 days.  I have wished that the SUN didn't set , I could have used the extra light and warmth the last few days.  It has been 10 days that have been emotionally draining, physically challenging and spiritually weakening.  Since my last blog - ten days have gone by. A lot can happen in Just 10 Days!


On Monday we were allowed to return to our homes so we left the St. Regis hotel...but not until I received some very sad news that a good friend of mine here in Thailand had just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  She and her husband wanted to meet with me and talk to me about my experience, she is the same age as I was when I first received my diagnoses. It was good to offer my personal insights, but reliving that year has always left me a little more reflective and emotional.  My heart hurt for this young family.


Tuesday morning found just Laura and I packing for our four days in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Due to the flooding situation in Thailand Ron had decided not to come to Cambodia with Laura and I for October break, John was attending a rugby training camp so he would be staying as well. I check my email before I left for the airport and found out that the sports camp for John had been cancelled due to the flooding situation.  I should have realized that things were going to get worse before they would get better...  


Wednesday Laura and I went to Angkor Wat and watched the sunrise, and visited some other sites.  (I will post a blog and pictures of our trip to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat at some future date and time)  The flooding situation continued to worsen in Thailand.


By Thursday my four day trip to Cambodia was cut in half due to flooding issues at home.  Coca Cola had decided to evacuate all the expat families again - this time it was going to be to Hua Hin, three hours south of Bangkok.  Laura and I got the call to come back to Thailand - we had to cancel our tour guide, re book our flights and pack.  Ron and John were going to meet us at the airport and we would be on our way south.  In the midst of all the evacuation confusion I got an email from my parents, my dad had been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer.  Which meant that he and my mom would not be coming to visit me in November as we had planned.  My dad need to have special test done and treatment need to begin as soon as possible. Emotionally this was the straw that broke this camels back.  I broke down in that hotel room in Cambodia and sobbed. My head hurt from crying, my heart hurt because of so many things at this point and my body was physically tired...and yet I had to get myself back to Thailand with in a few hours.


We arrived in Hua Hin and stayed in one hotel from Thursday October 27 to Sunday October 30th and then had to transfer to the Marriott, where I am currently.  I had moved in and out of four hotels in two countries. in less then a week!


Day 8, Monday October 31  - Halloween was forgotten and we all tried desperately to log on to the internet, the cyber ghost must have been having a great time messing the internet connection , it is sporadic at best but on Halloween it was down right scary!  Living overseas and away from family the internet is a life line and when it is severed you feel lost and frustrated.  I wanted to talk to my dad, I wanted to hear his voice so that I would know that things were going to be okay.


November 1, the day my parents were set to arrive my emotions were close to the surface, I haven't been able to find a quiet location to really study my scriptures or even to pray - I like my alone time and I have not found much of it the last 10 days. Physically I have been running to try to keep my mind clear, but that day my body decided to run a fever instead and my body ached - along with my heart.  I had planned for months for my parents to come and visit me and now that November had come, they were not.  Emotionally, physically and spiritually I was worn out.  I could do nothing but lay in bed with the dark curtains closed blocking out all the sunlight.  I just wanted to go home.


Wednesday we learned that we would be staying here until Monday, November 7th with the possibility of staying another week.   Coca Cola is taking good care of us, but I miss my home and the normalcy of life.  I can't complain, even with the sad news, the moving around, the trips not taking place - I still have a home, family and friends.  I faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ, and in His immense power to care for us even when it feels like the SUN isn't shining in our lives.  It is He that is SHINING and it is He that will help us overcome all the obstacles that life throws in our path.
  
Today finds me realizing how much can change in such a short time, but then it also got me to thinking how much I could change in such a short time.  I need to find some quiet time for myself, I need to talk to my dad and mom and tell them again how much I love them, I need to let my friends know that they are valued and appreciated, I need to exercise my mind as well as my body, I need to reflect upon the tender mercies in my life, I need to be happy with the family time I have- whether in person or though Skype, I need to remember for me, as a cancer survivor, that each day is a gift. 


I have watched the sun set, and I have felt the darkness of night, especially the last ten days - but in the morning the sun will rise and I will be reminded again of all that I have in my life, and that I can make happen in Just 10 Days!

Hotel Sweet Hotel

The executives at Coke decided that it would be wises to move all the families that live in our neighborhood, Nichada Thani, to higher ground.  So, we packed up our bags and left for Downtown Bangkok.

When Coke moves you to higher ground, it was a lovely view too.  We relocated to the St. Regis right in the heart of the city!  Five Stars and we are almost in Heaven!

Here is the 'KIDS" room....

And now for my room and view...

Oh and how could I forget the pool - lovely by night and a great place to relax during the day.  It really was Hotel Sweet Hotel...

We left to go back home today, as the threat for flooding for our area has gone down.  Even if the St. Regis was a pretty sweet place, I love my home and am glad to be back.  Home SWEET Home.

Keeping it DRY

The word on the street is that Thailand is FLOODING, and for the most part that would be correct.  In todays BANGKOK POST the headline read...

"Flood Arrives in Bangkok".

All the areas in red are flooded and more continue to flood everyday.

Google Earth shows the same thing only in blue on a satellite  map.


That is A LOT of H2O...


We are some 25 miles north of Bangkok so we will be hit with the flood waters first.  Areas that are less then 2 miles north of us were flooded this afternoon - so we were asked to prepare.








The Nichada Thani Group, the area we live in, decided to put up walls to control the flood waters and have virtually blocked our way in and out of our sub division.


Laura and I took the golf cart for a spin and this is what we saw...

We were asked to move out car to higher ground, which is the neighborhood that houses US embassy employees.


We are to have at least a five days worth of non perishable food available and drinking water, a gallon per person for each day.

We then were asked to move all valuable items to the second story along with all electronics.

Coca Cola has about 5 executive families that live in this neighborhood and they have a evacuation plan in place for us.  Two vans are standing by with drivers on call ready to transport us to a hotel.  We will have a few hours notice and then we will need to leave.

It is not so much the flooding but the lack of electrical power and the ability to leave if necessary that they are concerned with.

Coca Cola does take care of its employees and it is great to have a plan in place to help us if we need it.

With all this said, the motto for this week is "KEEPING IT DRY". 

Let us  prepare for the worst and pray for the best. 

 Still, living here is an adventure that I am grateful to be experiencing.

"NOAH" where art thou...

Thailand is experiencing record flooding, the kind that happens only every 50 years.  The next four days the government thinks that we will see a  rise in the river of another 2-4 meters and that means more flooding.  And it is raining again tonight!



I decided to go out and take a few pictures of some of the areas that are close to our home that have been hit already by flood waters. Our neighborhood might find it self surround by water, so today was my chance.


A young monk being rowed from the flooded temple to higher and drier ground.


I don't think the even the dog was willing to go for a swim in the newly created river on the street in front of his home!

The Rains came down and the FLOODS came up!!

Boys will be BOYS - no matter the weather or water!!

The major problem is that the sand bags don't always hold back the water.  They are in constant repair and damage come quick if the bagged walls break.

This is a picture of my maid, Lek, on the right.  She is with her two friends that are helping those effected by the flood in their neighborhood.  It is amazing to see the smile in such a time as this!

Honesty

I was recently teaching a class of 14 year old young women, the lesson topic was "Avoiding Dishonesty".  I have always thought that I was a pretty honest person, yet pretty honest is not perfectly honest.  Is there  such a thing as half honesty, partial honesty or somewhat honest?  Isn't Honesty Honest  - all of the time!

We had a great discussion of what honesty is and what it is not.  For example...Does one just say anything they feel or think regardless of who   they might hurt?  What is a white lie compared to normal lie?  How do we use righteous judgment when answering question that require a judgment?

I feel that one of the hardest things to do in this life is to be honesty with oneself.

I was reminded of the story of Jane Eyre, when Mr. Rochester asks Jane to live with him outside the bonds of marriage.  She refuses and Mr. Rochester yells.."Jane do you not care for me?"  Jane answers..

" I care for myself.  The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.  I will keep the law given by God...Laws and principles are not for the times when there is not temptation: they are for such moments as this...If at my my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?  They have worth...and are all I have at this hour to stand by: and there I plant my foot"  ~ Jane Eyre

 As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints..I "believe in being honest, true, chaste ,benevolent and in doing good to all men..."

Those are hard virtues to live by each and every day, and yet that is what I believe is required of me.  I believe that each day we make a choice on what side of the line we stand. And I plant my foot like Ms. Eyre on the side of righteous principles even if I am my only friend and listener.  I may not achieve perfect honesty in this life - but I will die trying!  The intention of my heart is to be honest, to stand for truth, to be found doing good for those that surround me - family, friends and fellowmen.

In the last few years I have learned for myself that honesty is not just the best policy - it is the only policy.

Musical "SIngapore

Ron and I decided to take a quick trip to Singapore before he traveled back to the states.  Actually he had meetings there and I just went to relax by the pool and read a good book.  While I was there I found out that SINGapore is a very musical country...

I had a wonderful time watching the Broadway play "Lion King".  The costumes and make-up were amazing. Guess what is coming in December...my favorite musical "WICKED" I might just have to fly back to have another Musical time in SINGapore!

Pink Survivor

Eleven years ago I was diagnosed with BREAST CANCER!  I had just turned 40 on September 3rd, and was looking forward to life when it seemed that the walls of time came squeezing in on me.  Looking back, I am amazed at how I handled the situation and the emotional, spiritual and mental growth that has taken place within the last eleven years. 


As an avid Jane Austen fan, I would like to make an analogy with her novel Pride and Prejudice and my cancer story. 


When Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr. Darcy for the first time, she is confronted with someone that is so totally different from her she can't seem to understand what "He" is all about.  The exchange of ideas and feelings has its way of changing her her.  Although Elizabeth remains true to herself throughout the novel she does not look at herself and other people in quite the same narrow before the encounter with Mr. Darcy.


Like wise, I am not the same person that I was before "Mr. C" came in to my life. 

• I have learned much about the human spirit and the will to survive.
• I have felt the reassurance of unseen hands holding me at night when I cried myself to sleep, after being strong for others all day.
• I have  heard the soft voice of comfort whisper to me as I sat waiting for chemo treatments.
• I was humbled by the older women who were being treated next to me and there dedication to do what ever it takes to stay here for their families a little longer.
• I know of heartache as I watched a friend leave this world for the next after battling the diseases.
• I have witnessed the thousands acts of service that were done for me as I past through a year of grueling treatments.
• I realized that this life is a blessing and a gift.  I understand the importance of not wasting time.
• I have learned to relish friendships and relationship, both past, present and future.  
• I have trusted in the Lord and not in myself.
• I have learned to loved more deeply.

For all these reason and so many more I am grateful that "Mr. C" came into my life.  Elizabeth was thankful to Mr. Darcy and so I find that I too am thankful for "Mr. C" because I am a better person for having "HIM" be apart of my life.

I am a breast cancer surviver - but oh I am SO MUCH MORE.

To all the survivor out there, those with us still or those that we remember with love and admiration.