I'm back. Pardon my unplanned absence. I didn't intend to leave the blog unattended for the last few days, in fact I already had photos prepped, but what happened was a migraine that lasted from Thursday to Saturday. It was pretty awful and I spent most of that time in bed. I do feel better today, though, and in fact I was able to go to the Colorado Springs Garden Tour yesterday, so my weekend wasn't 100% a total bummer! Pictures from that soon, but first, more from my California trip a couple of weeks ago.
You may be wondering why I have been to San Clemente three times since February. The answer isn't exactly a happy one. My dear friend Janet's family has been dealing with a debilitating illness: glioblastoma. Janet's awesome husband, Ethan, was diagnosed in the spring of 2025, and his mobility was immediately and profoundly impacted. He underwent a lot of physical therapy over many months and it was helpful, but the reality is that Ethan has essentially been disabled from the moment his symptoms surfaced. Thus the entire family (Janet, their daughter Rachel, and Janet's cousin Arthur) has been centered around his needs for over a year now, 24/7, and frankly they are all exhausted. It has been very hard on all of them (not to mention Ethan!). My role in this? Emotional support friend. Janet and I are very close and she needs a shoulder. I am that shoulder. Pat and I went there in February to help with things around the house, then I went back in April just to hang out and provide support, and again this month.
If you've ever dealt with cancer, you know that chemotherapy and radiation treatment are part of the deal. While I was there this time, Ethan was undergoing radiation therapy. I think it was ten treatments in a row, so he had to go to the cancer center pretty much every day. I went with them on one of those days, and because I was excluded from the actual treatment suite, I hung out in the waiting room. Eventually I wandered outside and came across this nice, serene space called the Sabatasso Family Healing Garden. Since I had a camera with me and nothing else to do, I snapped off a few photos for you. It was indeed a very calm, meditative garden and I appreciated it.
Cancer sucks.
