If That Doesn't Say Happy Birthday...

Yesterday my mom turned 48 years old! She is of course a very young 48, which is why it's okay for me to tell you her age!

Anyway, you know what birthday's mean: Presents. My mom is so self-less that she would never ask for anything or expect anything for her birthday, but she does so much for me and for my sister I really wanted to get her something special for her birthday. Only problem was I have been a little busy. I started working full time this week, and because I so geniusly totaled my car last summer, I am car-less, which, you know, makes it hard to go anywhere. So as of 5 PM yesterday when I was leaving work, I still didn't have a present for my mom. So, after a quick consult with my dad and asking my sister to borrow her car, I went off in search of the perfect present.

My dad told me about this used book store that she likes where he got her Mother's Day present from. Since I didn't have any better ideas, I decided to go in there and see what I could find. It was more than just a book store; they had a lot of cute decoration things like really pretty crosses, and things to hang around the house. There was a sweet old lady who worked there and asked what I was looking for. "Well, it's my mom's birthday," I told her. So she showed me a few things, but not quite the right thing. I really wanted to go with a sentimental gift, and maybe make her cry a little! ha Happy tears, of course!

For Mother's Day, my dad got her a bracelet from there she loved, so I decided to look at their jewelry and see what I could find. I looked around and finally stumbled across a really pretty silver bracelet that was engraved with the words "I am blessed when I think of you, my mother and my friend." I knew right away it was perfect. So I grabbed a card and checked out and went home and tried to give my mom a good excuse for randomly disappearing!

It was all I could do to not give it to her right away, but I decided to wait. We traditionally open presents after dinner in our family, so I waited until then. So, she opened her presents from my dad and then I handed her my card and the box with the bracelet in it. She took the bracelet out of the box and put it on (she loved it of course), and then that's when I noticed the gift tag at the bottom of the box.

Sitting there in the gift box the bracelet came in, was a Merry Christmas gift tag that said To: Mom. Love, Linda. 

What!? We all had a great laugh at the fact that this gift had apparently been "used." My sister chimed in with "Well, it is a used book store." I knew it was used books, but I didn't expect there to be used bracelets! My promptly announced very matter-of-factly "I would never return something you gave me!" Thanks, mom. Good to know. Too bad we can't say the same for Linda's mom... poor Linda. I mean, does Linda know her mom returned the bracelet? What could she possibly exchange that bracelet for? As my dad put it, did she walk in and say "give me a couple of used books for this bracelet and I'll take a bookmark too..."?

I mean, really though, if a used gift doesn't say happy birthday what does?! (side note: I tried to get a picture of the gift tag, but thought about it too late, so you'll just have to trust me.)

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

Today marked the end of my second year of College. That means only 2 more years... and as I sit here at the airport waiting to head home for the summer, I can't help but wonder where has the time gone? 

These past two years have been more than I ever could have imagined. It feels like yesterday I was pulling up at school, and afraid to get out of the car. I asked my parents if we could go back home; I didn't want to go to college after all. Two years later, I am so glad I got out of that car. These past two years have changed my life. I met some of my best friends, I made the decision to join my sorority which turned out to be the best decision I ever made, and I've grown so much as a person.

It hasn't always been easy. There have been more times than I care to admit that I wanted to throw in the towel and quit; give up, and go home. But I've stuck it out and I'm glad I did. This past semester was especially rough with my sisters health issues, and at times I hated being 1000 miles away.  However, if I couldn't be home, there is no where else I would rather be than where I was. I had the best support system, and I had people there for me when I needed them most.

When I think back on the past two years, I am overwhelmed with amazing memories. All the good times; the crazy weekend nights out on the town, our sorority parties, slumber parties in the President's room, laughing so hard we cried and crying so hard we laughed... I could go on forever.

I can't believe it's already been two years... and I can't beleive all that these past two years have brought. If the next two years are anything like the first two, well then I can't wait! Of course being halfway done means getting closer to that dreaded g-word. I'm not even ready to think about that, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I am so thankful for all the memories, for all the friends I've made, for all the good times and even the bad ones, that I've had over the past two years. I can't believe I'm gonna be a junior in college... I guess it's true what they say time flies when you're having fun, and man have I had fun!

A compilation of all the good times over the past two years... because there have been so many, it took a whole collage to properly represent them.

Sometimes Words Don't Sum It Up...

So, Friday night was the big event, the Relay For Life I was participating in in honor of my sister! The night was amazing. It meant so much to have my sorority sisters there to back me up, and the night was filled with lots of fun and some very touching ceremonies. I could write a whole post about how great the night was, but sometimes words just don't sum it up. I couldn't do it justice. Amazingly, I was given the opportunity by the Staff members that were running the event to speak at the Fight Back ceremony; a ceremony dedicated to the fight against cancer. They asked me to speak about how cancer has touched me through my sister, and what I've done to fight back. I thought this is the best way to sum up the night and why I worked so hard for Relay For Life.
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Cancer is a word that you never want to hear in reference to someone you love. Unfortunately, that word has been assoicated with someone I love.

On November 25, 2009, my world was turned upside down when my 16 year old sister was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. Suddenly, all the things I took for granted like being in each others weddings, and having our kids grow up together were being threatened. Suddenly, I was imagining a world without my sister and my heart was breaking. Instead of her life being consumed with boys, gossip and prom like it should be, her life was consumed by radiatoin, chemotherapy, and blood transfusions. Instead of being in and out the hippest parties, she was in and out of the hospital.

Ever since she was diagnosed, I had the overwhelming urge to do something. I wanted to take away her pain, and most of all her cancer. Although I couldn't do that, through Relay For Life I found something I could do. I found a way to fight back against her cancer. I put together a team in my sisters honor with my sorority sisters help. Immediately, I reached out to friends and family who knew what my family was going through and told them what I was doing to help. Through my efforts, I was able to raise over $1000 individually. Relay For Life gave me the opportunity to fight back, and I couldn't be more thankful I got involved.

Watching my sister fight cancer has taught me so much. I learned not to take things for granted and not to take everyday for granted, it taught me how to be strong, and not to give up.

I know that next year at Relay For Life, I am going to watch my sister take that Survivor's Lap after all of this is behind her, and I'll never have been prouder.

Something I Can Do

Caroline really lightended things up a bit around here the other day and it was a nice change from the serious tone that this blog has had lately. Of course the reason it's been so serious is legitimate, but I miss writing about fun things, and the blog swap helped me remember that! I guess it just felt wrong writing about fun things when something so serious was going on. Anyway, I'm going to get back to more fun posts soon, but here is one more serious one for now.

Ever since we first found out my sister was sick, the same thought crossed my mind probably every day; "I wish there was something I could do." I wish that I could take away the time, take away the pain, take away the sickness, just take it all away. Of course I can't do any of those things, and having someone you love battle cancer can make you feel very powerless.

I despised that powerless feeling. I didn't want her cancer to have that effect on me. So, I did what I could, even if it was mostly little things. I wanted to do something, anything to make her feel better even though, deep down, I knew nothing I did would take away the Cancer. I still felt powerless despite doing what I cuoold to help.

Finally, I found something I could do. While it didn't directly affect her and it certainly didn't take away the cancer, it gave me that powerful, in control, feeling back. It opened my eyes to new possibilities of something I could do to help. So what is it? It's Relay For Life.

My sorority sisters and I decided to start a team in honor of Anna and her fight. We are named Anna's Alpha Chi Angels, and we have raised over $1000 in less than 3 weeks. I am the Team Captain, and I have personally raised $960 toward my personal goal of $1000. It is so empowering to be able to raise money for an organization that works to achieve what I want most; for cancer to be eliminated. I can't take my sisters cancer away as much as I would like to. However, I can support The American Cancer Society in their efforts to abolish cancer, to find a cure, and to make sure that no one else has to go through what my sister has and what so many other people have to. Finally, I can do something. Something to hopefully one day have a cancer free world.

(Side note:) I would really appreciate it if my bloggy friends would help me meet my goal of $1000.. you can donate here and visit the team page here. Thank you in advance.

Technically a woman, but you know, not really.

Today I'm turning my blog over to Caroline from Girl Goes East. We are partners in the 20 Something Bloggers Blog Swap, so we're swapping blogs for the day (duh that's what a blog swap means). Here's Caroline's autobiography:

Caroline (girlgoeseast.com) is a 22 year old college graduate who holds a degree in journalism and a full-time job in...not journalism. She currently lives in Manhattan where she frequently locks herself out of her building and sees that guy from Gossip Girl (she doesn't know which one). She started her blog so she wouldn't forget how to write, but now she just forgets how to work.

Hopefully you will enjoy her post and if you do make sure you go show her some love at her place (while you're there, you could show me some love on the post I wrote for her... *cough*cough* just sayin') Anyway, without further ado, here's Caroline's post: 

When I first saw my name next to Patrice’s, I clicked her link.

Oh F*#^.

 

This girl is serious. She has a layout. She has a BIO. With a picture. And a background. It looks like a digital scrapbook.

 

Wait. Patrice is still in college? I’m not in college anymore! It’s been a year, and the wealth of knowledge I’ve aquired in the last 11 months is so extensive that I could trump her layout any day. In fact…

Ok wait. This isn’t a competition. My therapist would say I’m probably just jealous she’s still in college and I’m not.

My therapist would be right.

Not a girl, not yet a woman, hm? Yeah, I feel you. I totally feel you. I realize that even though in the state of New York (and in the bank account of Mom and Dad), I am legally a woman (and not a girl), sometimes I feel like I’m still in the in between phase.

With Britney Spears and her awesome thought-provoking lyrics in mind, let’s go back to 1998 when Baby One More Time debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts (also, sometimes I make facts up).

Because I didn’t get a CD Burner til 8th grade, I was left to my own devices. And by my own devices, I mean an 18lb boom box and an alarm clock radio, where I would record mix tapes externally so the sound would always be fuzzy and LAY OFF ME WHAT ELSE COULD I DO?!

I would wait until the “top 9 at 9” would come on the radio so I could record the hit songs like “Baby One More Time” and “Lady Marmalade”. Then I would choreograph stage routines to said songs pretending the most popular girls in my grade were nothing more than my back up dancers.

I mean, what? Who said that?

I look back on that and I nearly die laughing, remembering listening to Britney in my bedroom as an 11 year old girl and really “feeling” the music. I think "Email My Heart" once reduced me to tears (I mean, that song still does, but before they weren't because of the pain from my BLEEDING EARS.) 

 

How embarrassing! Who does that?

FLASH FORWARD to my 22 year old current self.

Every single time I find myself in a car alone, you know what I do? I sing songs. You know what kind of songs? The one's on the Glee soundtrack. You know who I am when I sing the songs from Glee? The lead. Obviously. Even during the stereotypical male vocal songs, I AM THE STAR.

I watch my little cousins sweat Miley Cryus and kiss Nick Jonas and Justin Bieber posters before they go to sleep, and I thank God I'm not a dorky little girl anymore.

 

But where was I last night at exactly 9:25pm? On the edge of my couch, humming along to Lionel Richie's "Hello" with the cast of Glee and Googling pictures of Mark Salling while my roommate looked at me like I was the biggest freakshow on Earth. Where was I before that? Furiously voting for Andrew Garcia on American Idol.

 

I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE, PEOPLE!

 

We’re not girls. But we’re not women either. Most of the time we’re just awkward.
 

Let’s embrace it.

Spring Break Wrap-Up!

For Spring Break last week, I was able to go home to Dallas and see my family for awhile. Of course, as is the trend with all things home lately, it was not your average visit or your average Spring Break.

It started out pretty bittersweet; of course I was glad to be home and to see my family for the first time in months, but it wasn't exactly the visit home that you dream about. After I got in Friday night, my first stop was the hospital, where my sister was receiving chemo. Like I said, not exactly the average visit home. I hated that my first stop in Dallas was the hospital, and that we had to go to the hospital at all. As a result of the chemo and everything, my sister was not exactly jumping up and down to see me, in fact she wasn't even awake. To see my sister for the first time in months, and to see her in her hospital bed, hooked up to IV's and everything is not exactly the way I wanted to see her.

Coming home and going straight to the hospital got me thinking about how different my experiences going home this year have been. They have all been bittersweet. The first time I went home was Thanksgiving, when we got the worst kind of news. Then after that was Christmas break, and while it was nice to be home for so long, that was a very hard time as it was the beginning of all these awful treatments and adjusting to hospital stays and this "new normal". And now, a few months later, it all comes back to me.

It's not that I forget about my sister and what she's going through when I'm away at school, but it's almost like it's not as bad. You let yourself believe that it's not that bad, and that she's doing okay. And even though, that might be true sometimes, it was definitely a reality check to see her laying in that hospital bed. I had to choke back tears at one point, and I kept thinking "I want my sister back!" I want my outgoing, crazy, fun-loving sister back. Not this sister who feels like crap and can barely manage to hug me when I come in town! It definitely made the visit a little bittersweet at first.

Luckily later in the week, I got that sister back, and we got to do a lot of fun things! We spent 2 nights at The W Hotel in downtown Dallas (my mom, my sister & I and 3 of Anna's best friends), we went to Dallas Mavericks games, did some shopping, and just spent time together. It was great to bond with her for awhile and great to spend time with her while she was feeling good. It was definitely the part of the week that was all sweet and not bitter at all!

Overall, it was a great week and I am so glad I got to spend the week at home! Just in true Basso family style as of late, it just wasn't your average spring break. But average is over rated anyway!

An Answer to Our Prayers

Today, my parents and my sister sat in the doctors office to hear what the most recent scans showed. Today, they got the best possible news. Today, they got an answer to our prayers and to so many others prayers. Today, the doctor told them "Your prayers have been answered.  The scans show the best possible results."  Today, a feeling of relief, of gratitude, of the power of prayer was felt by all of us.

My sister's tumor is no longer existent. The other spots that were previously seen on her back are no longer visible. This is what we have been wanting to hear since day 1. This is what we've been praying for. I have seen the power of prayer in others. I have seen what it does for them, for their families. Never before have I felt it myself in such a powerful way.

Ever since day 1, before we even knew for sure that it was cancer, I knew that there was a reason for this. I had to believe that. There was no way that we were going through all this for nothing. There was no way that all these people who were all praying for the same thing, for Anna to get better, there was no way their prayers were not heard. There was no way it was a lost cause. There was no way that Anna's strength and determination, even when she felt horrible and probably wanted to give up, was a lost cause. There's no way that my amazing sister was not going to kick cancer.

Today, we saw the power of prayer. We saw the power of determination, of strength. There could not have been better results from this test.

Of course this day is bitter sweet because our journey is far from over. My sister will still have to endure more chemotherapy, which has been making her feel so awful lately, and she will start radiation next week. Our journey, as much as we wish it was, is not over. We are not finished. We have not entirely beat cancer. But we are on our way. Our first, hard fought, battle is won. We showed cancer whose boss. We kicked cancer in the butt, and will continue to do that.

As I heard the news today, I cried. Except this time, I was crying mostly tears of joy. I flashed back to the first day I found out there may be something serious going on with my sister. I flashed back to those tears of fear, of the sense of hopelessness, and powerlessness. Today, I see that none of that is true. We were not hopeless nor powerless. We are strong, all of us. Not only our immediate family, but extended family and of course friends too. All of us believed, and we were shown it is good to believe.

I couldn't help but reflect on this journey so far when I heard the news. All the emotional roller coasters we've all been riding these last few months. I couldn't be happier that it seems to be all paying off. It has been one heck of a ride so far, and I know it is unfortunately far from over. There is nothing more that I want than the doctor to say "It's over. Go home, and continue your normal life." I want so badly for my sister to be able to be a "normal" teenager again, without the hospital stays and doctor visits, and the scans of her insides. Although this is not the case now, I know that someday soon it will be. We have to ride this roller coaster for a bit longer, but in the end it will be worth it.

However, I am choosing not to think about what the future holds or may hold. We don't know what's to come, what this stupid cancer has planned. However, for now our prayers have been answered and there is nothing more that I could want right now. I have complete faith that our prayers will continue to be answered. God is good.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying with us. Your support is amazing, and so appreciated. Please keep it up!

"God is our refuge and strength- a very present help in trouble" Psalm 46:1