Catherine Guthrie

I’ve been dreading this day for as long as I can remember. Three years ago, when Mary brought up the fact that I was closing in on the big 4-0, I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, indignant that she would say such a hateful thing. But, after two years of arm wrestling with breast cancer, I can honestly say I’m thrilled to be turning 40. Cancer changed me, whether for better or worse is still to be seen. But it struck me recently when I heard someone say that aging is a privilege not a right. Today, I feel extremely privileged.

Oy, I finished radiation and immediately got walking pneumonia. I know…I’m the luckiest girl you know, right? Apparently radiation to the chest wall makes one more vulnerable to the lung crud. So I hacked myself silly for two weeks, during which time I barely crawled out of bed and had to bug out of some assignments. But, thank goodness, a round of antibiotics did the trick and I’m feeling MUCH better. My immune system needs some serious TLC, but I recovered just in time to go on a hiking trip with Mary and my family over Thanksgiving, so I’m grateful for small favors, as my grandmother used to say, “bigger ones solicited.”