Are you ready for some adventure in life?

When I got my cancer diagnosis and opted for surgery, I entertained thoughts that this could be it. My optimistic self thought, “This will be a bumpy ride.” But my pessimistic self understood that any surgery has risks. Joan Rivers, for example. That’s grim and I certainly have no interest in the big “THE END” at the end of the book but we also don’t know exactly when the story is over.

It’s been a bumpy ride these past two months but I think I’m past the worst of it. The doctors told me I’d have trouble with incontinence but I didn’t think about what that meant until I pissed myself at a minor-league baseball game during a company outing.

The doctors told me there might be pain in my bladder but I didn’t know how painful it might be until it seemed like a red-hot poker was lodged in my pelvis and its only way out was through my penis.

But I’m lucky. The pain has lessened. Also, I happened to be wearing urine-colored shorts at that baseball game and no one noticed my wet spot.

The survivor’s near-death response to invitations is “yes”

Once I was cleared for exerting myself, I’ve pretty much said yes to everything that has come my way. I’m on an accelerated walking schedule and working out multiple times a week. Pickleball, golf, and nights out with friends are happening. Day trips and weekend trips have happened, and out-of-town trips are taking shape quickly.

I’m blessed I don’t hang around with daredevils or maybe I’d have tried skinny-skiing, going nude to bullfights on acid, or naked skydiving (like Lacy).

Relatedly, if my ass is handed to me at the pickleball tournament in two weeks, I may start drinking heavily.

Soon, there will be a financial reckoning for all the activities, so I don’t think this will be a new way of life.

My old friend coffee

One thing I’ve had to say “no” to is coffee. Caffeine has always over-stimulated my bladder and now that there’s an increased risk of springing a leak, I’ve had to cut back. Where I used to drink seven cups a day on average, I’m down to three and a half cups.

If seven cups a day seems a lot, I used to drink an even dozen. You might think I was addicted but, really, I’m one of those people who has their best thoughts in the bathroom and all that coffee sent me to the toilet three times an hour, at least. Boy oh boy, did I have a lot of great ideas back then.

Of course, that wasn’t sustainable. One day, while driving home from work with a to-go cup of coffee, my heart started beating erratically and I detoured into the Emergency Clinic at the hospital.

They ran a couple of tests but when I told the attending physician how much coffee I drank he rolled his eyes at me and told me to knock it off. That was a relief because I worried I might end up like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction with a needle through my sternum.

It’s all about balance.

Saying Yes to Writing

My intention for post-surgery was to go hard on the new novel, and revise the novel-in-progress, but then I heard about a writing craft class that excited the hell out of me. So that’s what I’m doing the most of lately, is learning some things about storytelling I thought I knew but now know I didn’t know.

But now I know how to fix my novel-in-progress, and I know how to write the next novel. It’s literally like light-bulb moments in the bathroom.

Maybe You’d Like

This week I’m joining forces with two different groups of authors to share our stories, so take a look and check out these covers. Click on those you think you’ll enjoy!

Can’t Sleep? Thriller, Suspense, Crime & Mystery Giveaway