I'm Scarf/Hat FREE!

Well, I did it. I took off my scarf this morning at school to show a friend how I tie it around my head and the few people in the room strongly encouraged me to leave it off. I have a little bit of hair - but not much. The hair is no more than the shape of my head which, I guess, is the weirdest thing, but I listened to my friends and left it off for the whole day. It was quite liberating! :-)

Okay, so how do I use this nearly bald head of mine to my advantage at the annual Halloween party I usually go to? Do I go as something/someone bald? or wear a dreadlocks wig a friend of mine has and said I could borrow... ?? suggestions? anyone?

:-)

sj

Winding down...

Well, it's been too long since I have posted!! The last chemo treatment was so monumental to me, and it has all seemed downhill, sort of, since then, but at the strong urging of my mother (and she's always right) I thought I'd get off my duff and post! I am doing well and have been back at school since the first teacher workday. I, thankfully, haven't had to take any time off due to fatigue or anything other than doctors' appointments.

I recently had follow-up surgery to finish the reconstruction. The surgery (outpatient) was last Wednesday and I've been out of school since then. I return tomorrow and am more than ready to do so! The surgery went well, and I've had little to no pain or discomfort. My mom came to take me to the surgery and then stayed with me until Saturday. Then my dear friend from Alabama, Becky, arrived Saturday evening and stayed through this morning. I've had a relaxing week and feel well restored! :-)

My hair is growing back in and is all fuzzy and soft and white! Well, some of it is brown, too, but there is so much more white than there was before! The white hairs are acting like they just might be curly! which, if it does turn out to be curly, will be pretty wild because I have ALWAYS had stick straight hair! I still wear a hat or scarf to school and anywhere else out in public, but I'm hoping by Thanksgiving I will be ready to bare my head of hair! I'll let you know...

Let's Celebrate!!!

Well, today was my LAST CHEMO TREATMENT (I find it hard to type those words and NOT put them in all caps!) and what a great feeling! The room where I have received each treatment has a plaque on the wall with a bell attached. The plaque also has a short poem engraved on it. When someone has a last treatment, he or she reads the poem and then gets to ring the bell. After I finished my treatment, the nurses told me to go read the poem and ring the bell. It was all I could do to read the poem and not fall apart! And how I loved ringing that bell!!! :-)

Teacher work days begin this Thursday (8am - 3pm), and I'll be there! Brice and I will be there some tomorrow and Wednesday as well. I'm hoping to get a lot done before Thursday even arrives. So, if you can stop by my classroom Thursday or Friday to say hello, I'd love it!

hope to see many of you soon!
xosj

Just checking in...

I am doing well with this third chemo treatment ~ pretty much the same situation as before with most foods lacking any kind of taste. Next week should be better - the third week usually is!

I have spent several hours in my classroom the past two days with lots of help (Susan and Mary Stewart Barnes one day and my niece, Elizabeth, who is a new teacher in Montgomery County on another day). I'm heading to Galax today to the Old Fiddler's Convention where most of my extended family is already camped out and enjoying the hot weather and music. Lyn and I will head back to Stone Harbor on Sunday, and we can't wait!!! We'll be back in time for my last treatment on the 18th.

I hope everyone is squeezing as much they can into their summer as it winds down and school draws near!

love, sj

ONLY ONE MORE, WOO HOO! (certainly not to be confused with Wa Hoo!)

I had my third chemo treatment this morning. All went well, and I even felt well enough afterward to run several errands including getting by the school to check on things and say hey to Mr. Merritt and Mrs. Collis! I am so excited and anxious to get back to school! I feel like I've been away tooooooo long!

I appreciate the comments I've received so far on my last post and am thinking seriously about skipping the wig thing altogether! (yes, even on two posts! I am easily swayed!) :-) I have so many pretty scarves and hats... Mrs. Simmons even suggested having the students make a bar graph showing the number of days I wear scarves and the number of days I wear hats! Now, isn't SHE the smartest thing?! Love those SOLs!

Another month or so before school starts, and one more week at the beach for us! Can't wait...

take care, sj

This post is primarily to the students (and their parents) I taught this past year...

Hello, my sweet children (especially my guinea pigs) and moms and dads!

I am taking a class on technology this summer and am supposed to create a personal blog! Well, isn't that handy? I already have! BUT, I am supposed to post a photo which I have NOT done, so I will now (see above)! I was at a family gathering this past weekend and someone took a photo of me wearing a scarf which shows (fairly obviously, to me anyway!) that I have no hair. What I would like from you is your thoughts on how you (students, in particular) would feel if your teacher pretty obviously didn't have hair. Try to imagine, if you can, it's the beginning of the year, and you don't know me yet. Would it matter to you that your teacher didn't have hair under that scarf or hat? Would it distract you, causing you to think about that instead of important things like what is 6 x 7!?!?!! :-) Would it distract you at first, but you'd get over it pretty quickly? Would you wish she would please just wear a wig!?!? :-) You don't have to answer these questions, specifically, just tell me what you think. You may post anonymously if you prefer! I promise, you WON'T hurt my feelings whatever you say!

I miss allllll of you horribly!!! :-)

love, Mrs. Jordan

Doing well...

Unbelievably, the days after the second treatment went even more smoothly than the first! I haven't had ANY bad days and haven't even felt as tired as the last time. The biggest thing I notice is the lack of taste most foods have. Everything kind of tastes "flat", for lack of a better word. Salty things have the most flavor and I even noticed a difference yesterday in several things I ate, so maybe I'll be able to taste more before the next treatment on the 28th! :-)

My intent is to start school on time ~ Mr. Merritt (my principal) offered to get me a sub for the first two weeks, and I replied with "NO WAY! I'm going to be HERE!" :-) My last treatment is August 18th which is a full two weeks prior to the kids starting school on the Tuesday after Labor Day. I expect to feel fine!

...until next time...