My wisdom teeth extraction sites are better now. I can eat and everything! Well, I only eat with the left side of my mouth and I need to brush/rinse after I eat, but it’s okay now. It feels sooo good to eat food. The first day I could eat solid food again (mac and cheese) I ate so much. So much, yet I didn’t seem to be full even then. My gums still kind of hurt if I open my mouth too wide or talk too fast, but it’ll heal quickly I’m sure. It healed pretty well in a week.

I checked out the Wellness Community the other day—it’s a place where they help out families of those that are cancer patients and the patients themselves. I had to go to the newcomer meeting and watch a short video, and it was really interesting. Apparently it hasn’t been proven, but there is some kind of connection between the mind and the body. Patients that let themselves sink into depression seem to deal with cancer more than those that have determination and optimism.

At first, I was the only one attending the newcomer meeting. The meeting was for all families, cancer patients, and volunteers to become more informed. After a while, two ladies came in and the director (I guess that’s what you’d call her. She’s the psychologist) wanted us to go around and introduce ourselves. When it got to me, I said, “Hi my name is Kimberly ___” and ended it there. I wasn’t sure what to say. They were probably thinking I was a young cancer patient, that was afraid to talk. Then the psychologist encouraged me to tell me what I was there for, and I proceeded with saying I wanted to become a volunteer at the center and help out as much as possible. Honestly, it was very hard for me to compose the right face while talking and listening. It’s not that I don’t want to hear about it, but I guess because I’ve been exposed to it very little, I had some trouble finding the right reaction.

The two ladies I met were really wonderful. I listened to their stories for about less than an hour, but I feel changed already. One woman said she liked the idea of coming there, because there was no need to put on make-up, put on her wig, etc. I hadn’t even noticed her hair until she said wig. I thought she looked nice with her short hair, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say, so I didn’t… I guess I really need work on this, but I’m trying. The other woman told us a story about her wig, too. Her daughter bought her this hot pink wig and she went on wearing it. It was kind of like a symbol, like she didn’t care if it was silly and she was ready to do anything. But when her relative or friend saw her in the wig, they said to her “Are you trying to embarrass me?” which was out of line because she was the one dealing with cancer, and it had to do with herself, not embarrassing her friends. I think it’s amazing that people are like that sometimes…

Well, unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to really help out with “hands on” things like talking to more cancer patients, but even if it’s answering phones or doing paperwork, I think any kind of help is still help. Oh, and the volunteer coordinator wanted me to get references to check up on me, so I emailed my former APUSH teacher (Mrs. G) and my former AP World / Yearbook teacher (Mrs. Jordan). They both replied really quickly and happily said they’d put in some good words for me! That makes me so happy. I really need to keep better relationships with my teachers. They can be so nice, and it’s really helpful in the long run.

When I deal with things that are hurtful, I really want to make myself remember these ladies and remember what strength and good nature they have. They’re wonderful people, and I need to remember that I shouldn’t be too selfish.

On a totally different note, I really enjoyed my day today with Thuy. We went shopping in a million stores. For some reason, barely anything interested me. I usually love everything and pick out this and that, but today I didn’t. Maybe the stores were just poorly stocked (or at least to my tastes). I ended up buying two items of clothing (this short-sleeved jacket and a tank top) though. Afterwards we went out to dinner at Red Robin. I’m still full from it all! My feet are killing me (blame the shoes). I’m content though.

I also started restoring my old website again (Pink Mist, the personal site that I haven’t updated since 2004…). It’s taking longer than I thought, but I guess that’s what you can expect after not updating it for three years!