This weekend was a mixture of both the good and the melancholy.  Good because the weather held up and because my cousin’s goodbye/good luck get-together was a success, and melancholy because of the purpose for having the party, plus the combined news of one of my favorite people being diagnosed with cancer.

>Now, some of you have probably been following this long enough to know that when I moved here, I took a couple months and thought long and hard about what gym I wanted to join. I finally settled on LA Fitness because it was close to my then-apartment and my job.  I began going to classes there soon after that, and found an incredibly challenging step class taught by an amazing, energetic woman that I can still barely keep up with.

Well, that class has helped shape my experience down here, and I’ve made a lot of friends there, met a boyfriend, and have continued getting into shape by attending the last two and a half years.  And my respect for Julie, the instructor, has only grown since I began. So it was really hard for me and everyone who’s a regular in her class to learn that she was diagnosed with colon cancer last week.

I thought about it, though, and even though I feel like I barely know her, in other ways I have spent more time with her than some people I know down here, people I do consider my friends.  Her class was three times a week for a while, then dropped to once a week, and then resumed on Mondays and Wednesdays. So I’ve seen her twice a week for just about two years, at least once a week. Rarely have I skipped classes, and when I’ve done so, it’s been because of urgent matters, sickness, or injury.  So that’s why I think this affects me just like it would if one of my coworkers or good friends had the same diagnosis.

Obviously, I wish her the best and a speedy recovery. Julie definitely has the right attitude though; as my cousin so thoughtfully put it, her worst moods are some of my best. And she has a huge support network, as was made evident by the outpouring of love and kind words on her Facebook page.

Cousin and I do plan to send flowers; even Shannon, one of the other instructors whose classes I attend pretty regularly, came up to me yesterday and asked if I’d heard anything. She talked about setting up a collection for the others at the gym so we could send Julie something. She probably needs time, I said to Shannon, since we have not heard anything more since Friday night. Time to adjust, time to gather herself a little, time to spend with her family so she can figure out how to proceed.  But I’m sure at some point we’ll be able to contact her personally and give her our support.  And probably a giant bouquet that says that her entire step class loves her and supports her.

Anyway, the other melancholy thing that hung over the weekend was my cousin’s departure from Atlanta.  He finally heard back from a small commuter airline based in Dallas, and obviously, took the job. While he’s not permanently leaving Atlanta, he will be gone for about six weeks for training, and then based somewhere in the wide world (some where that is not Atlanta).  Without being too sappy, I’ve gotten used to his presence here and it’s been very nice having some family member that I’m close to around for a change.

In his honor, I volunteered to throw a little gathering.  I invited about six of our mutual friends to come over on Saturday to grill out and hang by the pool. Then I asked if he wanted to bring this one couple that I knew of that he hung out with, and by Friday he told me that eleven more people were invited. I’d had a minor panic attack because I’m not used to having people over for anything, and then I remembered that the complex doesn’t like for more than a few people to hang around the pool at any one time, and that they were having their own community BBQ the same day, and that I didn’t have nearly enough food for everyone and…

Well you can see my train of thought. But we went to the Farmer’s Market on Friday afternoon by Buford Highway and for $50 got enough food to feed twenty people. Everything was fine.

Saturday, we waited around until the evening. The sky clouded up, turning a bruised purple color towards the evening, although it didn’t rain. We moved over to the pool around six and started grilling, a few people showed up, and that was it. We just had some food and lounged by the pool until it was dark. A friendly bat or two came swooping out of the nearby trees to take a drink and see what all the splashing and commotion was.

Sunday, I had a friend over and we sat around outside by the pool. It was a gorgeous day and the water was warm and lovely.  We ended the night with an impromptu trip to Publix (where we picked up a container of roasted garlic hummus, a bag of cherries, and some ice cream, among a few other things), and by watching Toy Story 1 and 2.

Today is back to reality and working. With Julie out of the gym, I’ll have to adjust a little bit to maintain myself. Swimming today? Running? I’m fairly sore and fatigued, but I feel obligated to do something. Well, I have all week.

Categories : adventures