Mammogram Concerns and Some Halloween Decor

Yesterday I wrote about how I went and had my yearly mammogram.  Then, this morning the phone rang, and it was THAT call.  That dreaded call when the doctor told me, "Your mammogram is abnormal.  There is an area of concern.  Please come back for further testing."

To quickly condense what happened after a long day of wondering and waiting, hoping and praying for the best, I returned for more tests.  After a brief wait while the radiologist read the tests, I was pronounced free of cancer, and directed to come back in one year to do it all again.

For me, it seems that approximately every other year I get an abnormal result.  Then there are more pictures, ultrasounds, poking, prodding, needles, biopsies, and lots of worry.  However, every time I've been dismissed at the end of it, labeled cancer free.

And that's the bottom line.

I wanted to keep myself busy today while waiting for those additional tests, and so I got out my box of Halloween decorations and spread them all around.

I keep a pretty light-hearted take on Halloween, nothing too gory or scary.  I recently read a Facebook comment from a woman who walked past a home with Halloween decor involving two bodies in the driveway.  Blood and gore was spread all around making it look as if one person was run over and the other was smashed under the garage door.

To me, this is just way over the line of what's acceptable.  Imagine a young child seeing that display and being upset for a very long time.  It's just wrong.

So back to my little bit of decorating.  Of course there are plenty of fabric pumpkins all around now.

Our puppy, Sheila, particularly loves to bite and carry around that small orange one there on the end table.

Now to the mantle.

I have a variety of items I use up there, including three characters in their own "Halloween Parade."

Some painted wooden blocks:

A tiny spooky decorated tree:

To finish the mantle display, I scattered small black tea lights throughout the display that have orange "flames."

Finally, I put a friendly scarecrow greeter on our front door.  All that decorating kept me pretty much occupied until I went in for those nasty tests.

For me, staying busy helps me to worry less.  As it turned out, I needn't have worried at all.

Easier said than done.