The New Normal

A friend referred to the changes in our lives as the ‘new normal’ and that term seems to fit. As the years go by, we all come into new normals - teen years, college, marital status, babies, etc. So, here’s what this looks like at the moment:


Cathy, Kyle & Carrigan will be ‘fully’ moved in with Cathy's parents when Kyle returns to New York with the rest of their ‘stuff’. Carra is looking forward to having her tricycle and teapot set as well as sleeping in her own bed/crib.

Cathy has been able to enjoy the company of old friends and renew acquaintances since moving back to New York. This is in addition to seeing siblings, cousins and extended family more often.

Kyle is getting used to being surrounded by Yankee fans (although he has taught Carra to say “go Red Sox”). He continues to work on his perpetual ‘to do’ list which includes find a job, look for new doctors, organize files related to Cathy’s treatment, plus a myriad of other tasks.

Carrigan is enrolled in a daycare center from 8-12 noon Mon-Fri. In Florida, she was in daycare full-time from the age of 4 months so she seemed to miss this in NY. She went for a ‘trial day’ last week and had a great time playing with other children and also getting to ride a tricycle. It’s going to be a part of the day that both Carra and the adults look forward to. Cathy/Kyle have also been taking Carra to local playground parks in the area. Although the ‘airplane’ park she loved in St. Petersburg will be hard to replace, they have found several parks she enjoys where she can run off some of that high energy.

Cathy's parents, Frank and Marcia, are getting used to the child safety gates and doorknob covers which gives them some peace of mind. They are in the routine of their expanded household and especially enjoy the sound of the ‘pitter patter of little feet’ overhead in the morning as Carra runs back and forth between the two bedrooms. Listening to Carra sing and talk in that delightful 2+ year old voice is priceless. With Cathy and Kyle here, there’s usually a full pot of coffee brewed, Marcia can plan fish for dinner (for 2) and they now have an in-house computer techie. Frank has his baseball-football-hockey TV partner again in addition to gaining a history/politics conversation partner.

Of course, all of this is going on during the new norm of biweekly (every other week) chemo for Cathy. As the next session will be only the third one, we can’t predict if the effect on her will be the same as after the first or second. However, as it continues we may be able to discern a pattern of sorts and to come to know what to expect. Hopefully some changes can be made that will make the in-hospital chemo sessions shorter and less tiring and we’ll fill you in on that if that happens. In the meantime, we make plans around the chemo days and schedule activities for the ‘off’ week.