Eight Years Later…

~ oneletterup ~ 14 Comments
Desk View
February 26, 2026

Greetings to my fellow bloggers!

I thought it fairly appropriate to jump back into my long neglected blog again today when I noticed that the Ragtag Daily Prompt is “Huh?”

How appropriate, as in “Huh?…has it really been 3 years since I wrote an “anniversary” post?” And 8 years since I started one letter Up? Marking “anniversaries” is one of my things and the past 2 just slipped by, not at all on the radar in my blurry, fractured state of mind.

I really don’t know where to start with what’s been happening. Everything has changed, but then…not. I do still live in the same condo, can sit at the same desk and look out the same window. But otherwise I am not the same. Does that make sense to anyone? Perhaps it would to a fellow cancer survivor. I’m in that category now.

One of my doctors told me at an appointment last month: “Now you are a 2 year bladder cancer survivor.” “Survivor” got my attention as it was a term I didn’t think I would hear until farther into the future. I have, as a result, graduated from biannual scans to annual scans to check for spread. Because that will always remain a possibility.

Of course, I do realize it could all go to hell any day and shift course, but I am coming to terms with the futility of worrying about a shadowy future. This has taken some time, as I can be a worrier – looking over my shoulder for the unexpected. Which is what happened with this diagnosis. It was a total shock as I have no risk factors, family history, blah, blah, blah. Before too long – after the biopsy revealed an aggressive mass – there were doctors up in my face pronouncing “You Will Die Of Bladder Cancer” if I didn’t consent to a radical cystectomy. I’ll tell you…fear is a powerful motivator – even for a person like me who always needs to weigh every single option over time & wait before making major decisions. I felt I had to jump in the deep end and hope for the best. So I did.

Of course it didn’t help that a few weeks after returning home from my 10 day hospital stay, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A real WTF moment. As in “Huh? are you kidding me?” That situation is “stable” at the moment.

But, anyway, here I am. My mind seems to have cleared to the point where I can string a few sentences together. And reach out to you all. I hope you are well.

These past few years have been one hell of a journey.

So many stories.

I have thought about my blogging buddies often and have read many of your posts. They have been a comfort.

Well, that’s all for now.

Five Years Later…

~ oneletterup ~ 31 Comments

The past is never where you think you left it.

Katherine Anne Porter
Desk View
February 26, 2023

One may think I have ghosted my own blog – more or less – during the past year. And for the better part of 6 + months I guess that’s been true. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts via email notifications, but that’s as far as I usually got. It’s been quite the year. I have not accomplished anything monumental or written the great American novel! Just enduring and getting through each day was the goal, but in the process the blogging spark disappeared.

I am sure many of you will understand the need to retreat and narrow one’s focus when overwhelmed by awfulness. Suffice it to say, my 2 year commitment to running a condo board is over and the nasty is finally in the rear view. I am inching my way back to whoever I was a year or so ago. No need to rehash details here as none of it deserves any oxygen or space on these pages. But…what a book I could write.

However, since I can’t resist marking an anniversary, here I am. It’s now been 5 years since I launched oneletterup.

And what else about the past year on a personal note?…There were some positives! Although covid is still here (funny how autocorrect no longer autocorrects the word covid), we were able to travel in October to Merida, Mexico for my son’s wedding part 2. A grand celebration put off (because, well, covid) from the very personal 2021 legal ceremony (in DC). We did celebrate Christmas with our daughter and her family in Washington, DC – there’s nothing like 2 little kids (my perfect grandchildren) to liven things up and take your mind off your troubles! Unfortunately our time with our son was limited to masks and porch visits (because, well, he caught covid). Extra frustrating since he lives only a few blocks away from our daughter.

Despite everything that crashed down on me this past year, I am so very grateful I have loving family and friends, a place to live, food to eat and – for the most part – my health. Whether it’s luck or planning or circumstance…I’ll never know for sure. Still thankful.

When I logged on here yesterday for the first time in a while, I noticed over 1000 comments…aka spam…waiting for approval. So obviously the “bloggers” marketing RVs/van conversion/collision shops and clever suggestions about various private body parts thought oneletterup was the place to be. One message offered this piece of advice: “Breathing in and out numerous times a day boosts your life immensely.” Mull that one over. Who knew?

Year #6 on WordPress is beginning. I’m looking forward to it. Baby steps. One topic of interest I may want to share here is my recent connection with newly discovered distant relatives on Ancestry! Any thoughts or advice would be most welcome.

Thanks, as always, for visiting!

Summer Clouds Dancing Across the Sky

~ oneletterup ~ 9 Comments
Hampton Beach NH at dusk

SixWordSaturday

Settled on a boardwalk bench after an anniversary dinner with my husband last night, I was witness to Mother Nature at work. The evening sky on display…only a short drive away from our home.

Behind me – and across the street – a bustling sidewalk of tourists balancing beach chairs, slices of pizza and fried dough moved along from T-shirt shops to ice-cream stands to the iconic arcade that has been blaring its bells & whistles from pinball machines for decades. A mashup of reggae, rock and country music poured out from restaurant decks and porches. A sea of humanity of all ages, shapes and sizes gravitated in and out of what my father used to call “Tourist Traps” but what I affectionately called “Souvenir Shops” back in the day. Last night it was: Get your name printed on a grain of rice! or a ring! Buy this shirt with a (totally tasteless) message printed on the front! Key chains! Sunglasses! And More! Racks of tie-dye…everything…lined the boulevard. Before dinner, we played a few Skee Ball games for old times sake – and collected enough tickets for a pair of dice.

Finally, the popular vacation destination of Hampton Beach was “back to normal” after 2 summers of pandemic restrictions. It was wonderful to see people out and about enjoying themselves.

After over a week of record setting heat and humidity, I was most grateful a more comfortable summer day had returned…with its gift of a beautiful evening sky.

Macro Monday: Purple Surprise

~ oneletterup ~ 7 Comments

I haven’t posted a macro shot in a long time, so I “dusted off” this photo from a trip I took to Washington, DC in June. It was bright and sunny the day I spotted this purple flower in my daughter’s yard (or the yard next door), but I never noticed the critter hiding in plain sight until now.

One of the things I love most about macro photography is discovering new perspectives – and the tiny surprises I would not have found otherwise. It reminds me of the thrill I felt when peering through a microscope in science class as far back as grade school. I don’t remember what we were examining back then, but I was continually amazed at the “technology.” I guess I still am.

Happy Monday everyone!

What a difference some kindness makes

~ oneletterup ~ 15 Comments

You have some wildflowers in the lobby!

I do?

Yes you do!

A phone call from my neighbor downstairs on Thursday pulled me out of a dark cloud…. It’s not my birthday. It is certainly not Mother’s Day. Why on earth would there be flowers in the lobby for me?

I should have known…

There they were, arranged in a bright yellow cup. Alongside an envelope with my name written in familiar handwriting – by my guardian angel of comfort from the building across from ours. Inside…a note of thanks and support “for all you do for our community”…(as mentioned in previous posts, I work on my condo board). With an uncanny sense of timing over the past year and a half, she has surprised me with homemade applesauce, gluten free muffins and treats. And once before…flowers like these…left outside my door.

Her note and thoughtfulness unexpectedly brought me to tears…of gratitude…it was such a stark contrast to my day to day dealings.

She and I don’t know each other well, but she is aware of what goes on. And most of all she is kind. Once again it made all the difference.

We need more people like her in this world.

SixWordSaturday