The Bottenberg Family: growing old

I realize that I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks and someone told me I was overdue! Sorry for the delay, but I guess no news is good news! Life has been moving right along. I don't know if Braden feels the same, as some of his days tend to stand still, but for the most part he is doing really well. Interferon is rough. I don't know how else to say it...it just sucks! He really does his best to push through it and tries to go about life as normal as he can. Extreme fatigue is probably at the top of the symptom list, followed by insomnia. He gets a little frustrated being wide awake at 3:00am when he feels so tired. Otherwise, he still has the body aches and feels flu-like at times but it thankfully doesn't happen as often as it use to.

This weekend we headed to my hometown, Pretty Prairie, to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th birthday. Wow! When I was thinking about her birthday and all she has lived through in her 90 years it got me thinking about a conversation Braden and I had a few weeks ago. We were talking about where we would be 10 years from now and at the same time we both said..."we will be in our forties!" Sorry if I offend anyone but geesh forty sounds old! Which was then followed with Braden saying..."I hope I am still here when we reach our forties." Whoa...talk about a statement hitting you like a freight train. Maybe some of you reading this can relate. I think those thoughts are probably very natural when you are diagnosed with cancer. Braden has had many weak moments where he has found himself talking about the future and the unknowns. He has talked about his hopes of being here for Brynn's first day of kindergarten, her school years, high school graduation, moving her to college, walking her down the aisle, our first granchild, and so on. So, as we celebrated my Grandma's birthday, I was thinking that growing old is a gift. Enjoy today. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Braden and I do have moments of fear and anxiety about this disease. Our lives are forever changed, but thankfully we are able to overcome those moments of fear because we have a God that is far greater than this disease!

So HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY Grandma!!! Thank you for a fun weekend. I hope I can live a life as complete as the life you have lived. Love you!