I remember the end of the nineties well, I was full of hope after a period of mourning the death of my father, and the end of a long term relationship I was in. It was party time, and I was living life to the full - along with my best friend who was also recently separated from her soon to be ex husband. Its the time of my life I really started to figure out who I was.
2000 was a good start to the decade. I moved into my new house, I passed my driving test, bought my first car and my first niece was born. What a year! I worked hard, and played hard too. I was discovering a new life as an independent woman, and I was moving into a more "grown up" part of my life - hitting 30 in the early part of the Naughties. Planning, saving, dreaming and wondering where fate would lead me. Life was good for the first half of the decade.
And then into 2005... I had plans for home improvements, I'd been saving for years and had managed to get a promotion at work which had helped my home improvement fund. I had a holiday planned. I was looking forward. Then.... WALLOP... along came cancer. Life as I knew it stopped. Life became illness, and hospitals. Operations and doctors. Needles and chemicals. No hair and burnt skin. Concern and worry. Stress and anguish. No longer was my cup half full, it was almost empty. Dark times.
2006 I was still having treatment, but starting to find hope. I returned to work, and was pleased to be back (for a while!). Then came the aftermath, the bit you don't hear about in the fluffy pink world of breast cancer media. Dealing with the damage to my body from surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Coping with the changes I didn't think about when choices were life or death - like infertility, premature menopause (or not?!?). Then there is the psychological damage, the fears that only crept in once cancer had visited. The feeling of mistrust in my own body. The worries that every ache and pain could be "it" back again. The loss of friends I'd made, and the sadness and fear that brings.
So, the latter part of the Naughties was pretty shocking really. Add the workplace bullying into the mix in late 2007 and early 2008 and the terrible impact that continued to have in my life until very recently I think its fair to say I am glad there's not much of this decade left!
There were a few highlights too - another niece arrived in 2005. Friend's have also had children in the Naughties. I love them all to bits (yet I am also envious that I will probably never have a family of my own). I bought a caravan, by the sea, and spend lots of time there with my extended family. That's priceless and I know I wouldn't have done that before.
So here's to a new decade and new beginnings! I hope the next 10 (tenties??) are good ones.
