January

How refreshing to be able to go over a month without having any real news to report! But, guilt has set in and I feel I need to at least put something up! Our holidays were nice: relaxed and spent with family and friends. Sawyer's big gift was to get his own car (Mark bought a new one and Sawyer now has his old Honda). We traveled to the Hudson Valley for a few days over New Year's to ring in the new year with some good friends and actually stayed awake to see the ball drop!

Overall Sawyer's doing fine. Still on his schedule of clinic treatments in Rochester once a month and a regime of pills at home every day. He's trying to be very careful about not picking up a cold or flu as he navigates around school and the wrestling mats. His wrestling coach has been wonderfully supportive, letting Sawyer determine the level of exertion each day that fits his energy, or stepping back altogether for a day or two as needed. The winter sport season is almost over so it will be one less item to take up his time, although he will continue to work out on his own. He enjoys exercising and the benefits to his body and mind.

Junior year of school work is weighing heavily on him as he works through AP Biology, AP History and chemistry (among other classes). He's feeling the pressure of lots of homework amid other regular life events and is learning to deal with the stress. Downtime  generally comes in the form of watching tv, playing video games, going out for hikes in the woods, and hanging out with his friends. As always we're grateful that he's able to mostly have normalcy which isn't the case for too many other families who are struggling with much heavier matters.

I want to give a supportive shout out to a close, very longtime friend of mine who will shortly begin her own treatments for melanoma. I'll be there every step of the way.