Moving Right Along

I hope my sister and brother-in-law don't mind me telling this story. (If this post suddenly disappears later this week, however, you'll know why.) I also hope I get it mostly right.

There are two things you need to know:

1) My brother-in-law is a pretty low-key guy. He has a wicked sense of humor, but he's pretty quiet about it, so it often takes you by surprise.

2) Like lots of moms, the main thing my sister wants on Mother's Day is to be able to sleep in and then shirk her usual domestic responsibilities for the rest of the day. She wants to be, in the inimitable words of my friend Lisa, a complete slug-butt. And so, on the second Sunday in May, that's pretty much what happens: my brother-in-law and their two highly adorable, spectacularly beautiful daughters (ages 7 and 4) give her a well deserved break.

So here's the story:

A couple of years ago, my sister woke up on the morning after a typical Mother's Day. Her husband had already headed out for the day, but he had left her a note. It said:

Mother's Day is over. Get back to work.

I don't know who laughed harder: my sister, or every person she ever told the story to. I still crack up every time I think about it.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I had it in mind today—the first day in four months that I've felt like my old self again. Not 100%—yet—but pretty damn close. My energy is back, and I'm ready to use it.

If my brother-in-law were here, I imagine that he might have left me a slightly different note this morning:

Chemo is over. Get back to work.

And actually, that's exactly what I plan to do.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be doing some part-time editing work for my old firm. I'm really looking forward to getting started and to getting some structure back in my life.

And, of course, to getting paid.