I'm Not Home Yet

I threw away my prosthesis Monday night and moved my wigs off of my dresser.  I don't know why it's taken so long, nor do I know why there are still things I can't look at and can't get rid of.

I have several tote bags in my bedroom that I've used in the 3 years I've shuttled back and forth between here and M.D. Anderson.  They're filled with insurance forms, bills, magazines, puzzle books...the stuff that accumulates while you wait.  Waiting is an art in which I've become well versed. 

I can't make myself go through it.  I try now and then, but that chemo nausea returns like a ghost to remind me of how bad it's been. 

I also carry a small notebook with me that includes, among other things, several pages detailing the physical reactions I had to chemotherapy.  I agreed to participate in a study that required I keep track.  I can't tear those pages out.

I remind myself that I've been through a lot.  I got rid of the prosthesis, I moved my wigs.  It's a journey of reconciliation.  I'm not home yet.