Survivorscribe's blog

I'm decorating my Mother's Day luminary as I sit here at my desk. Tomorrow is Relay For Life, my first in Tecumseh that I've been able to participate in since my own ordeal with breast cancer. It's exciting and a little crazy, because of all the work I have to do just to take part of the day off tomorrow to participate. I'll be working as I participate. A journalist is rarely not on the job, so I'll have to shoot a few photos.

Decorating my luminary has got me thinking about my mom and how much she sacrificed to be with me as I waged my battle against breast cancer. She lived with me the better part of the year, dragged my kids to school when I was down and out on chemo and cooked me iron-rich meals to try to boost my falling red bloodcell count.

I think often of the irony of the situation. I'm 39. My mother is some years older than me, of course. She's far from ailing and old, but when she was my age, she was caring for her ailing parents. I just think that maybe when I should be caring for her, I'm the one that was ailing. Silly thoughts, I know. I just find it funny.

She dropped everything to help me fight the battle against the big C. I could write all day and still not touch how amazing that is. I'll be out there walking during the Victory lap at 6 p.m. As I do, I'll be thinking about all who helped me get there, my husband, my dad, my inlaws, my siblings, my siblings-in-law, my kids, my friends, my coworkers, the many wonderful and kind Tecumseh Herald readers who gave me encouragement and, of course, my mother. 

Hope to see you all at the Tecumseh Football Field Friday and Saturday. Celebrate! Remember! Fight Back! 

I know it's not Tecumseh, but it is exciting regardless. I will be reading at Sweetwaters Cafe, 123 W. Washington in Ann Arbor, Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. This is my first featured reading. It will be followed by an open mic where anyone can read poetry or prose.

I've written about it in my regular column, but for anyone who happens upon this blog and who doesn't get the Tecumseh Herald on a regular basis, I am in a Master of Fine Art in Creative Writing program. I am studying poetry and fiction writing. It's not a requirement to go to readings, but I do enjoy reading and listing to others read their work. My goal is to one day have my work published in books, so I work away at the writing and once in a while get out and read what I've written.

That's about all for now. Oh, I'm also extremely proud of my son who had a piece of art that he did in his art class accepted into State Elementary Top 15 exhibition. His grandma, my mom, who is a sculptor and sketch artist, is also extremely tickled by this news.

Cristina 

It's been more than 20 years since I last played flute in an ensemble. Last Tuesday, I performed with the Britton Community and Alumni band. No, I'm not a Britton grad and I'm barely part of the community. My kids go to school there. Britton is one of my newspaper beats. I feel like I'm much more acquainted with Britton than the town I reside in. I guess that makes me community enough to participate in the band.

I have kept my nice flute all these years, because I thought that I'd one day--when I had enough time--that I'd want to join a community band. Most that I know of what a once a week rehearsal commitment. I really just can't commit to that right now. All I had with the Britton band was a few rehearsals, some good laughs as we all tried to get our chops back and just plain fun.

What made the performance extra special was that my son's band concert was postponed from its original date to the same night as mine. He plays the flute, too. He also had the opportunity to see another male flautist play in the community band. It was all around a perfect bonding experience for my son. My daughter also enjoyed it. Both of them were at every rehearsal, and my daughter told me time and again how much she loved the Ashton Overture.

My dear life partner videotaped the whole performance. I had intended to put it up among the other Tecumseh Herald videos, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. In time I guess.

I have to apologize to my fellow band mates. I didn't explain to my dear partner that I wanted the video as a community thing and he has a lot of close ups of me. He's also not got much of a steady hand. One might get dizzy watching the video. The guy dices and slices vegetables for a living. It's a wonder he doesn't cut himself every single day.

What I learned from the whole experience is that I don't want to put my flute away for another 20 years.

Cristina 

Hello Tecumseh Area folk! I'm here to get the ball rolling on this blog thing. Survivorscribe is your friendly neighborhood "Neighbors" staff writer Cristina. This here area of our new website is for community members to share what they are doing in and around Tecumseh by keeping their own Tecumseh Herald sponsored blog.

To get the ball rolling I'll most likely post little bits about what I'm doing in an around this little town. Yes, I live in Ypsilanti. Those of you who happen upon this blog may wonder why I give a hoot about Lenawee County. I've been working in Tecumseh for almost nine years, so it feels like home to me. My kids go to school in Lenawee County. Their friends live in Lenawee County. We simply keep our home in Ypsilanti. That's not to knock Ypsilanti, but this area does feel like home to me. I just have to drive a few miles southwest of my house each morning to get home.

Being that the "Neighbors" section is my beat, I've come to know the Clinton and Britton areas a little bit. I even lived in Clinton for a brief period. I enjoy getting out and getting into those communities, and most recently, I've dusted off my old flute and joined the Britton Community Band. It's not a major commitment like some community bands. We only have a few rehearsals and then it's performance time. We'll see what happens considering we are a rag-tag bunch of folk who, for the most part, haven't pulled our instruments out of their cases in some years.