It looks like we dodged Hurricane Iganacio and will be on our way home. Leaving Hawaii is sort of a mixed blessing. For the most part, we’ve been able to set the “other stuff" aside and enjoy our time here. Once we get back home, reality kicks in. We both have procedures and doctor appointments this week which will pretty much tell us what happens next. But, it does look like chemo will start pretty soon.

For the most part, we’ve tried to keep our spirits up and do some of the things we love best – like hiking and photographing plants. The one pictured is the flower of a caper plant (a relative of the plant that produces capers). The flower lasts only one night. We had to get up long before dawn and drive an hour to see this in bloom. Once the sun comes up, the flower withers and that’s it. Somehow between impending hurricanes and evanescent flowers, it’s hard not to see metaphors with what’s going on in our lives.

We'll let you know what happens next, but it may be a few days while we discuss doctor recommendations, chemo and struggle to absorb it all.