Living For Lamingtons: A Room With A View
As I mentioned in my last column, my husband and I have recently returned to our home in Scotland after having lived in Southeast Asia for many years. It is lovely to be back home, and I really appreciate being able to be outside in the fresh, clean, Scottish air.
One of the very first things which we have done since returning is build a summer house at the top of our garden. This little summer house gives me a place to sit amongst the trees, looking out onto the outstanding views of our local loch and mountains.
Without wishing to sound as if I'm on commission from the Scottish tourist board, it really is beautiful and so very peaceful. The colors change all the time, and the light is something to behold.
Like the holidaying ladies in the E. M Forster novel, I have “A Room With A View.”
I don't remember Forster's book very well, but its title describes the importance that one of the ladies attached to having the view they were promised in their hotel in Florence. When I read the novel as a youngster, so many years ago, I certainly never imagined it relating so well to my own future desires and pleasures.
Views, nature, the outdoors, and landscapes have always been important to me, but since my multiple myeloma diagnosis, their importance has really escalated. I can tell from many of the articles and comments in The Beacon that I share this with many readers. I've been wondering why.
I can think of a few reasons.
One reason, I think, is that in the last two years I have spent many months in hospital, totally deprived of any sort of natural environment. If I had any view at all, it was of a gray wall! I used to dream of just looking at a plant or any living organism, never mind a real live Scottish landscape. I remember wondering if all the patients felt that way, or if they were perhaps too sick to even notice their lack of any view.
I used to tease the nurses in Singapore that I was going to escape the hospital and run off to the country. So having the treat of a summer house available to me on a daily basis is delightful and seems like some sort of reward for what I've endured. When I sit looking at my view, listening only to the bird song, I feel at peace and very far away from the cancer treatment rooms.
Simple, natural pleasures seem much more important these days.
Secondly, I feel safe in the outdoors, in the garden, and in my summer house. I don't worry about getting yet another infection in these places, and that makes me relax and feel well. I've come to hate crowded places, and when I'm beside people who are coughing and sneezing, I become very anxious. The idea of going to a cinema or the theater or being trapped anywhere around people who seem to be exuding germs is my idea of torture. The clean air and the room with a view are just perfect.
Thirdly, and this is harder to describe, the beauty of this environment fills me up with something – dome sort of joy of being alive, of coming this far through the treatment, of being able to take in this time and place and be thankful for it. It is hugely enriching. I want to hold onto it, enjoy it on my own, and share it with others.
I hope each of you has your own little summer house – a lovely, safe place, where you can breathe fresh air and delight in a special simple space.
Like my room with a view.
Marjorie Smith is a multiple myeloma patient and columnist here at The Myeloma Beacon. Her column is published once a month. You can view a list of her columns here.
If you are interested in writing a regular column for The Myeloma Beacon, please contact the Beacon team at .
Hi Marjorie,
Just read your column, and my husband and I are touring your beautiful country for our 20th anniversary. So if even for only a little while longer, we truly can appreciate your Scottish landscape. My husband was diagnosed in November of 2015 and is stable. He has chosen to wait for a stem cell transplant. Thank you for writing an inspiring, honest column. Wishing you and all a gentle healing journey.
Cheers,
Thanks for the lovely column, Marjorie! That sounds like a really good home improvement in your garden. You are wise to want to avoid large crowds where there may be air borne infections, and to enjoy nature! We have a nice garden too, and I really enjoy working in it, except for weeding! But even weeding is good exercise, and so is pruning. My husband still likes to mow the lawn, so we both get some exercise that way.
Nice article Marjorie - my husband's family was from Edinburgh and we have been there once and loved it. Scotland is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking places we have visited. We are going to do a cruise this September and one of the stops is in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands so once again we will be in your lovely country. We share your love of the outdoors and have found that cruises are one of the easiest ways for my husband to enjoy traveling but more or less at his own pace. If his treatment regimen leaves him tired one day, we can just relax on the ship. As we sail past Scotland, we will send our greetings to you in your room with a view.
Hi Si Si G - I am so glad that you and and your husband are enjoying a holiday in Scotland - I hope the weather has been kind! It is also good to hear that your husband is stable and can delay the stem cell transplant. I wish you both good luck with whatever lies ahead. Thank you for your good wishes.
Dear Nancy, thanks for your nice comments. I have a lovely vision of you in your garden avoiding the weeding as your husband is mowing! I hope you can sit together and enjoy some sunny days!
Dear Dave, I hope that the appointments and procedures are not too difficult this week. I don't always manage to have a positive outlook either, I sometimes grumble and battle away deep inside! I send my very best wishes to you on the Lake Superior shoreline, which I imagine is very beautiful.
Hi Patty (I always love writing your name as my Mum was also Patty and it is a very unusual name!)- It is great to hear how much you liked travelling in Scotland. I have not been to the Shetland Islands but I know that the scenery will take your breath away. I can imagine that cruising is ideal when you are coping with myeloma treatment side effects. I hope these are not too debilitating for your husband in September. I will think of you both in my room with a view!
Always enjoy your columns, Marjorie. In particular, this one struck a chord. I can so relate to the uncomfortable feeling of being in a crowd. With my husband's continued low blood counts while on his maintenance Revlimid, we too avoid large, indoor gatherings. Recently at our little granddaughter's dance recital, I was more time concerned with our surroundings than what was happening on stage.
When we do attend a function out of necessity, I hold my breath for the next few days waiting for an infection to set in. I would never be able to handle a cruise but have a wonderful time, PattyB.
Induction therapy previous to Bill's transplant fell during Christmas holidays. We were advised to stay clear of any "petri dish" type of setting especially if children were included.
Fortunately, we like you, are lovers of nature. The mountain hikes have turned into trail walks but we still enjoy the great outdoors.
Hi Marjorie, glad to hear things continue to go well for you back in Scotland. May I ask what a summer house is? Is it enclosed or open to the air? I haven't heard the experession, even though I do read Alexander McCall Smith! Anyway, it sounds delightful, and I am happy to think of you there. Allergies are keeping me confined even though we are having a beautiful summer here in Oregon on the US west coast. Enjoy your view!
Dear Nadine, I am so glad to hear that you enjoy the columns. It is such a shame that lovely events, such as your granddaughter's recital, are so compromised. I often think that other people must wonder why we stare at them in horror if they even look as if they are going to sneeze! I hope you have some lovely trail walks this summer and enjoy your particular part of the world.
Hi Debra, glad to hear that you read Alexander McCall Smith! The summer house is like a tiny log cabin in the garden. Some would have outside spaces to sit, a bit like, what I think you would call 'a deck'. My particular version is indoor space all very woody and natural. It has a living roof and so, in years to come, it will have all sorts of plants growing on it. I hope that the allergies subside a bit and you can enjoy some of the Oregon sunshine.
Hi Marjorie, it sounds even better than imagined. The living roof sounds brilliant. Wishing you many myeloma free days, as we say...
Dear Marjorie, Your outdoor house with a living roof sounds absolutely beautiful. Your words paint a vivid picture. Such a contrast with our hospital experience, not matter what country we live in. I also find nurturing in the outdoors especially in the leafy summer. Enjoy your remission.
Marjorie, I so enjoyed picturing your delightful garden! My husband and I are hoping to travel to England, Scotland, and Wales next year, and we look forward to all the fragrant heather and hills of green. I believe nature can be truly restorative in many ways, and so I am hopeful that your garden brings you that kind of peace today and in all the seasons to come.
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