Two Cancers
We have finally parted from our RV and truck. Both were sold this past month. What we received was not what we wanted - is a used-item sale ever what you want it to be? - but we got enough, and we're happy to have that last major transition item completed. I'm especially happy to have the truck gone as we'd been keeping it in our very small one-car garage, where there was barely room to walk around the truck. Now there is plenty of room in the garage, even with the car in it, so that I can do projects there on my barely-used brand new workbench.
Being in this house for six months now, day-to-day life has become pretty routine. I have been doing rowing practice for three of those months, even with a knee that is almost - but not quite - back to normal. The house didn't come with a garden, so we'll be getting a new one started soon and fighting to keep the deer out.
The time I have been spending with our local Indivisible group continues to grow. My vision for retirement was that I'd find a couple interesting things to do, with minimal levels of commitment, and spend maybe a dozen hours a week at these things, spend time reading lots of books, do a lot of hiking, and dive into learning about General Relativity. However, it turns out that fighting fascism is a lot of work, so much that what I'm actually doing counts as a significant part-time job. It's interesting, the shift my midset has undergone since we got back to Iowa City. When we arrived, I was very focused on the national view of the fight against fascism, with particular interest in those places we'd protested or otherwise connected to local resistance. But now, I am firmly focused on Iowa City, and doing what I can to ensure that we engage as many people as possible and ensure that we have free and fair elections for all citizens.
If disentangling from RV life, getting involved in fighting fascism, rebuilding a household, and starting up rowing weren't enough, other life changes are occurring as well, especially, and regretfully, as a result of just plain getting old. Long in advance of our decision to quit RV'ing, we had planned to come to Iowa City in August to take care of our regular annual medical visits and checkups. During my annual checkup, my doctor recommended that I get a routine PSA test to check for the possibility of prostate cancer, because I am of the age where that becomes a concern. Alas, the results came back elevated; this triggered subsequent tests, including an MRI and a biopsy. The biopsy results confirmed the suspicion; I have prostate cancer. The biopsy was followed by a PET scan to see if there has been any spreading of the cancer, and fortunately there is none to be seen. I knew enough about prostate cancer to recognize that this diagnosis doesn't signal impending death. In fact, as cancers go, this is one of the least bad forms of cancer, and the prognosis is actually very good. But that doesn't mean I welcome it. There are two main treatment options, either surgery, or radiation and hormone therapy. Neither option is particularly attractive, but the surgery seems like the better option for me, and this will likely take place later in April. Unfortunately, this means I'll miss out on some of the upcoming rowing season, which I have been eagerly anticipating. The good news is that I should still be on track to get back out to the Appalachian Trail in 2027 (and miss THAT summer of rowing too!).
So I guess it's fair to say that I am working on getting rid of TWO cancers: the one inside my body, and the one that is currently inhabiting Washington, DC.