Birthday

One of my dear best friends goes hiking every Friday during the summer. She’s been doing this for at least 7 years, maybe longer. I don’t know how it originated but it has morphed into what we call “Lovely Lady Day.”  There is usually a husband or two that will go with us. Depending on the hike, and the day, there can be anywhere from three to eight moms and about 23 kids. Some hikes are all day hikes where they drive to salt lake, hike, pack a lunch and are barely home in time for dinner.

 

I started joining this group a few years ago. I’m not an avid hiker. I didn’t grow up hiking. I’m actually a little scared of the outdoors. I’m not a fan of the critters you run into out in the mountains, especially snakes. 

My first year I would pick and choose which hikes we went on. If I had worked the night before there was no way I would be ready to go at 9:30 with all four kids, backpacks, snacks, sunscreen, etc. I also wasn’t sure about how my kids (let’s be real, it’s me) would do with long hikes. So I didn’t go to the ones up in salt lake or anywhere past point of the mountain. In the summer of 2021 I think I joined more often. My kids were older, they all had buddies on the hike and it was something we could plan for on Fridays. 

Then 2022 came along. I finished chemo the end of April and had a double mastectomy on June 1st. I wasn’t sure how often I would make it to a hike. My body was very weak and tired. I didn’t have the energy to get my kids ready for an all day hike. 

But Fridays were hiking day in the summer so I tried to join when I could. And whether I was there or not, my friends and their children all wore their Lindsey shirts. I even received a video one time of them posing for a picture and yelling “Lovely Lindsey Day.” Cuz Fridays are when I had chemo. And Fridays was when we wore our Lindsey shirts. It really lifted my spirits. When I would show up for a hike and there was a group of 30 people all wearing a pink breast cancer shirt with “Lindsey kicks it” on it, it would make me so happy. I still see pictures scroll by on Alexa with everyone wearing their shirts and it makes my heart so happy. 

One Friday we went to the coal mines. There were people up there asking about all our matching shirts. My friends told them- oh she has cancer and they’re for her. This couple came up to me and said- “oh you are so amazing. Look at all these people who love you.”

Well fast forward to two weeks ago. I turned 39 on the 18th! For my birthday a couple of us girls decided to hike to some hot springs. I’d never been there before but I’d always wanted to go. So we decided that would be my birthday activity. We hiked the 2.5 miles up. As we were walking up, I couldn’t help but think- “look at how far I’ve come.” Looking back to last summer and how winded and tired I would get with doing these little hikes. And now here I was, hiking without feeling weak and tired. I was thinking wow my body has been through a lot. But I am so grateful to be where I am now. 

We made it to the top, sat in the hot springs, we put our feet in the freezing cold water, then we started back down. On our way back down, I slipped on a rock. And I rolled my ankle. And I rolled it hard. It felt like guitar strings in my ankle all snapped. I was low on food and water so I got a little lightheaded. I couldn’t put any weight on it. It was so painful! And I had two miles to get back down the mountain. Two of my friends tried to carry me but some parts of the trail were only wide enough for a single person to walk across so I had to do it myself. I didn’t want them to carry me anyway. That was embarrassing. My foot hurt so bad, I didn’t know how I was going to get back down the mountain. Even now, 12 days later, I still shudder thinking about the pain. Anyway, as long as I kept my foot as flat as I could, the pain was bearable. My friends also broke a branch of a dead tree limb and I used it as a crutch. That helped immensely. End of the story- I made it down the mountain. It took us longer than we planned so we didn’t get a yummy lunch but that’s okay. I spent the rest of the day icing my foot on the couch. 😂 but it didn’t get super bruised and only slightly swollen. For how bad it hurt I was thinking it was going to turn pretty nasty looking but no. It’s still bothering me so I wrap for extra….sturdiness? Support? Stability! That’s the word. It makes me more stable so I don’t roll it again. 

Anyway, moral of the story don’t go hiking. Ha ha just kidding. I just wanted to write and say how grateful I am to be where I am now. I’m grateful that my body is strong (with weak ankles) and I can complete a five mile hike. 

Happy birthday to me! Grateful to be alive and cancer free and celebrating another year with my family and friends.