Happy New Year

I didn't intend to leave such a long gap between posts, and I didn't mean to make a big deal of January 1st by suddenly re-emerging into the blogosphere, but there you go. I guess I am innately melodramatic. 

The main news is that I went to see the Top Man in the posh place in Dublin. 
I was right, my insurance doesn't cover it. 
After sitting in the plush waiting room (for the same length of time I would have in HSEville) with the free coffee, the photocopied crosswords on the tables, the polished leather armchairs, the exceptionally ancient fellow patients, I go into to see The Man. He looks at my scans, says things like "blimey, what's that?" while occasionally glancing at me, tries to make thin banter about the Real Capital, and pronounces that yes indeed he can fix me no bother. 

"Emm but my insurance won't pay for it."
"Of course it will."
"Emm no it won't."
Given that we were right in the middle of Panto season, this could have gone on for some time. 
Thankfully, he is a man in a hurry and with secretaries, so he got them to do the next bout of to-ing and fro-ing. 
And indeed, once again, the getting-a-bit-impatient insurance lady said No.

"Not to worry, we will make you a public patient and the State will pay for you."
"Sure that's fine so."

Some minor protocol-avoiding meant I could toddle home again that evening and get stuck into the Christmas mayhem, and forget about the CyberKnife spongeing that I will be doing in a few weeks.


Outside of all this cancer stuff there was a lot more fun going on. 
I became one of the very few women who is ecstatic to be forty. Couldn't be happier to be getting old and grey.
I had a good party.

The week before, we went to a 50th birthday party. The week after, we went to a 90th. I like the maths of that. 

We had a pathetically wholesome Christmas, with beside-ourselves excitement when Santa came, and a swim in the sea which reaped huge respect despite it being really not that cold at all. I was very tempted to go for the bikini to show off my lovely scar, which would have notched the kudos level up to 11. But I don't like to be a drama queen....

Board games, organised exercise, chats, leaky mince pies, champagne, stinky cheese. We had the lot. 

And inevitably I am here now on the first day of the new year, thinking how grateful I am to be here, how lucky I am to have the people I love in my life, and how wonderful the world is.

Over the top? 

Maybe just a little bit. But it's my party!