All sewn up?

The girls from Seamless are back, and things seem to be going so, well… seamlessly! Becca and the boys were making their way in their little home, Dana was finally dating the man of her dreams, Elle was madly in love with Bobby Fweidman, and Allie's belly was growing quickly. Sure, Becca's book, Seamless, had flopped, but she was still enjoying her classes at the art museum and still finding peace as she drove past the beautiful historic homes along Wee Street. Becca had almost had to pinch herself that morning as she looked over to the other side of the bed to where Jay was sleeping. She gave the blanket a little yank to cover herself and found a small thread sticking out from the beige rectangle embroidered on the duvet. She played with it and tried to break it off, but, instead, the string began to unravel, becoming longer and longer. As she wrapped it around her finger to rip it off, it only became tighter around it, making her fingertip bulge and turn red. Becca unwrapped it slowly and stared at the string, now several inches long, the embroidered rectangle now fraying on the edge. One loose string, one tiny pull, can make things come apart, she thought. If a seam opens, that's it. It is no longer smooth, it is no longer continuous, and all it takes is one tiny pull on one loose thread… Isn't that always the formula? Just when you think you have things all sewn up, the monsters and bumps, crooks and lumps appear. Maybe things weren't so seamless after all…

The girls from Seamless are back, and things seem to be going so, well… seamlessly! Becca and the boys were making their way in their little home, Dana was finally dating the man of her dreams, Elle was madly in love with Bobby Fweidman, and Allie's belly was growing quickly. Sure, Becca's book, Seamless, had flopped, but she was still enjoying her classes at the art museum and still finding peace as she drove past the beautiful historic homes along Wee Street. Becca had almost had to pinch herself that morning as she looked over to the other side of the bed to where Jay was sleeping. She gave the blanket a little yank to cover herself and found a small thread sticking out from the beige rectangle embroidered on the duvet. She played with it and tried to break it off, but, instead, the string began to unravel, becoming longer and longer. As she wrapped it around her finger to rip it off, it only became tighter around it, making her fingertip bulge and turn red. Becca unwrapped it slowly and stared at the string, now several inches long, the embroidered rectangle now fraying on the edge. One loose string, one tiny pull, can make things come apart, she thought. If a seam opens, that's it. It is no longer smooth, it is no longer continuous, and all it takes is one tiny pull on one loose thread… Isn't that always the formula? Just when you think you have things all sewn up, the monsters and bumps, crooks and lumps appear. Maybe things weren't so seamless after all…

"Because it is." Those are the three little words that changed my life, August 11, 2018. The "it" was my tumor. The "is" was cancer. The original story for All sewn up? actually started and ended quite differently, but stick to the changed plan, right? I write what I know and until that day at around 12:20, I knew nothing about cancer at all. Fifteen months and many treatments later, I know quite a bit more and am "cancer free". It is a term I am not quite comfortable with, but am getting used to. All the girls in Seamless return as that is exactly what girls do. They hold your hand, they bring you milk shakes and yes, dance with you to Shaun Cassidy. I am blessed with the many women in my life who helped me to walk in my own shoes, regardless of how tired I was, how uncomfortable they were and how I really didn't want to. Reading this book, you may find my cancerous adventure to be a horror story, a tear-jerker, a comedy, a love story or a mix of them all. Well, that's because it is. Thank you to my incredible teams at Northwest Community Hospital and Good Shephard Hospital. My doctors, nurses and technicians not only made me well, but always made me feel safe and cared for. My sister, Shana, who promised me that day she would never leave me. She never did and I always felt a little safer because of that. To my mom and aunt Lynne for their many hours in the chairs with me. My wonderful friends who stuck by me and, yes, even danced to "Hey, Deanie" with me. To Cooper, Asher, Nicole and Megan. You make me laugh, you make me feel loved. And to Jon, the love of my life. I'm not sure what I did to deserve you. I am blessed. Thank you once again to Jodi Joffe of Jodi Joffe Designs for another incredible cover and to Mindy Garfinkle Photography for our renewed friendship and these beautiful pics. Mom, when I stood there before you that Sunday, I wasn't sure how to tell you. You know me so well, that I didn't need to. At just about 5' tall and 90 pounds, you are just about the scrappiest lady I know. You can move my furniture anytime as long as we can have a cup of coffee, too. This one is for you, Mom.