Happy 5 years, scar!

Today is the 5 year anniversary of my biopsy, so my neck scar is officially 5 years old. I'm always surprised by how few people notice it. I think it's pretty noticeable, but lots of people tell me they didn't even see it. I suppose it blends in well with my normal neck creases. It's kinda hiding under a necklace today though... I might try to get a pic later.

I felt like doing a bit of a pre-update update since I said in my last post that this past year has been a bit crazy. I'll leave the health stuff for my official cancer-versary update (short version: migraines, ugh.) and let this be a life update, since that was the actual big event of the year. 

So, the big event? Josh and I decided to split up back in the spring. This, of course, isn't news to any of you who know us in real life. It was a very amicable split and we're still friends. I moved in July to my own apartment and I'm very much enjoying living on my own. (Well, I live with Badger, the cat. Cat custody was a tough decision...one we're still questioning at times. I'm going full-crazy-cat-lady this coming week though since Josh will be out of town...I'm going to see if Badger, Charlotte, Chloe and I can make it through a week in my little 1 bedroom apartment!). I don't feel comfortable going into the specifics of our decision to split up here...if you know us in real life, you probably already know. Suffice to say, considering that this blog is about my Hodgkin's, I will say that having been sick both did and did not play a role. As in, it wasn't, in any way, the cause of our breakup, but we've both agreed that my diagnosis kind of stalled our relationship and put off some important conversations and decisions that should have been had sooner. I'm happy to talk about it in a more private context...just send me a message. 

So that's what's been taking up most of my mental energy for the past 6-7 months. It's definitely been a big change, but I think it's been good for both of us. This is the first time I've lived completely by myself and it's really nice to have my own space. My apartment isn't fancy (it's actually kinda crappy!), but it's a nice space for me and Badger and it's super convenient for getting to work (right on the shuttle line...literally...the shuttle stops right on the side of my house!). I took up my side-gig of babysitting again and have loved getting to spend time with the two little girls I watch (though one has, sadly, made an international move with her mom...so now I just have one babysitting gig and one more reason to visit Europe!). I've been rather tentatively and unsuccessfully dating a bit. I find the whole thing to be stressful and I'm not in a super hurry, so we'll see what happens. 

In other news, as of tomorrow, I'll officially have a new job title and a pretty substantial raise. I'm still doing the exact same job, I just got promotion in a recent lab-reorganization. (I'm actually the only one working in the lab right now...which will be fun when our next study starts up in about a month!) A lot of my stress over the past 5years has been financial and with this raise, I'll finally be making more than I did before I got sick. It's blowing my mind that, with this raise, I'll be able to realistically pay off my student loans in the near-ish future, actually save money and maybe even consider buying a house someday....all things I thought would be permanently out of reach because of the financial hit I took due to my Hodgkin's and subsequent health issues. It's still pretty surreal...I've known about the promotion for some time, but I didn't get the dollar amount on the raise until about 10 days ago. 

I'll end here for now. Health update coming on Thursday....