“If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing.”

With these lyrics to his well-known song, “The Times They Are A-Changin,” Bob Dylan spoke about the unrest of the 1960’s. The tune, first released in 1964, is still a useful way to talk about my life today.

You see, no matter how hard I try, life keeps changing.

Change is just part of life. We do not have control of much of the …

Two weeks ago, I was on top of my game. I was training for a sprint triathlon, joined a masters swim team, and participating in a strength class.

A little history: I have been a participant in the Roaring Fork Women’s Tri­athlon Team for 18 years. We meet twice a week, in the summer, for coach­ing and training. For me, it is my adult summer camp. Besides, this team has been phenomenally supportive to me through the ups and downs of my disease. I was particularly excited about the upcoming summer because …

A three-story high evergreen grows in the corner of my yard. The majestic tree shades a small patch of the front yard and continually drops loads of pine needles, creating an acidic soil. The second story of our townhouse looms over the little yard, so little rain reaches the soil. 

In the 30 years we have lived here, I have battled these adverse con­di­tions to try and grow flowers. After many failures, only four perennials return each spring to provide a little greenery for the front of my home.

In the outside …

In February, I endured a record run of “lost days.”

If you are a cancer patient, you know what a lost day is. It is a day you feel groggy, unfocused, and you sleep a lot.

I can’t accomplish anything on a lost day. Really, I can’t remember many details of a lost day. This phenomenon could be due to a medical pro­cedure, the myeloma treatments I receive, or even trauma.

For four months, I would experience a lost day every Monday. This is the day I receive Darzalex (dara­tu­mumab) plus Velcade …

The sky is big and blue with gauzy clouds, and the hillsides populated with strange shapes of cacti and spiky grasses. This is the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near the border between Arizona and Mexico. I was struck by the harsh alien beauty. We camped three nights there, hiked, attended ranger talks at night, and learned lots about the cacti. The night was quiet and dark because of the distance from towns. Every campsite was bordered by its own large cactus.

At the end of our stay, I realized that I …

In our family, my husband Mark is the caregiver for me. It wasn’t always that way.

For the first 25 years, we were equal partners. We raised two sons, bal­anc­ing demands of careers and the challenges of parenting. Our lives were not easy, but wonderful and rich. Our children grew up, and we found more time for our personal passions; athletics for me and rock hunting for him.

Six and half years ago, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. In the first few months after my diagnosis, our relationship experienced a …

My mother, at age 83, dressed up to go to the grocery store. She chose her tops with an eye for a bright color, such as tangerine orange or scarlet red, to contrast with her black trousers. Her everyday jewelry was beautiful south­western tur­quoise and silver. She applied her makeup behind closed doors, to not give any secrets away.

In her 80’s, Mom was tiny, only 4 foot 10 inches (1.47 m), yet she walked tall with her head up high. When my friends commented on how cute she was, she re­plied with …