Gratitude – Page 2 – Kate Kohler

Vacation

Cancer, Gratitude, Holidays, Musings, News, Photos / By Kate Kohler

A beautiful orange and pink hibiscus flower.

What is a vacation anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever had a real one. I’ve traveled to see family and had a great time, but a vacation? I guess I deserve one, or that’s what they keep telling me!

So, we went to Hawaii! Maui to be exact, and we stayed with our friends in their spare room. I’m so grateful to have been able to do this trip! After this long year of cancer treatments it felt like a true luxury to be able to decompress in such a beautiful place!

We left Los Angeles Monday November 6th, and arrived in Maui late in the evening. Got a rental car and drove to our friends house and was greeted with fancy glasses with star fruit and umbrellas! Our friends are the best!

Of course first order of business the next day was to find the best local place to get coffee! Wailuku coffee Shop was it! For most of our journey actually… Not only did they have good coffee, but they also had excellent breakfasts, biscuit sandwiches, and bagels. Yum!

That night we went to dinner at Cafe O’Lei at the Maui Tropical Plantation. I just had to have the Macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi. Wouldn’t you?

On Thursday we went to Kula Botanical Gardens. So many beautiful flowers and birdsong and bees buzzing!

Flamingo Flower, pink with a long stamen

On Friday we went to get some of the best fish tacos at South Maui Fish Co. and then we walked to Kalama Park to watch the sunset and take pictures and fly some drones over the ocean!

At Kalama Park after fish tacos, Kate takes a selfie with the beautiful Maui sunset behind her. Wearing teal star earring, sunglasses, a purple bracelet, and a black shirt.

Saturday we drove to Paia and had flatbread at the Flatbread Company. I’m pretty sure I saw a cat living in the rafters! After dinner, we wandered around this little town and treated ourselves to gelato at the Paia Gelato.

Sunday afternoon we went to Kepaniwai Park and walked to the ʻĪao Valley State Monument… SO many stairs! but it was worth it!

Kate smiles while Christian pretends to touch the top of “The ʻIao Needle”.

That night we had Dinner at Tiffany’s (not to be confused with Breakfast at Tiffany’s), and I had my first (and last) MaiTai of the trip. Mai Tai’s are VERY sweet, although this one was tasty too! 🍹😆

After helping our friends move some stuff into their new place on Monday, we had Tuesday to ourselves and went to breakfast at SixtyTwo MarcKet where they have the most delicious shrimp cake eggs benedict. Then we drove to Ho-Okipa Beach and wandered around in the wind and found a place to see TURTLES!

Two turtles in the sand off the coast of Maui at Ho-Okipa Beach

Wednesday was Whale Watching day. After a lovely lunch at Tante Maalaea Harbor Restaurant & Bar, we headed next door to the Pacific Whale Foundation, who does amazing work protecting the ocean and it’s inhabitants. Our ecotour was super informative and windy! We didn’t actually get to see any whales (no refund, but we were offered another tour for free!). Being on the ocean in a boat, made for a lovely afternoon, just the same.

Looking to the west off of the deck of an ecotour Pacific Whale Foundation boat. Rope hanging from the railing. Blue partly cloudy skies with the sun shimmering on the water.

Our last full day in Maui was spent revisiting our favorite coffee shop and looking at native plants at the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens. Then we also returned to the Cafe O’Lei at the Maui Tropical Plantation.

The courtyard and pond at Cafe O’Lei. You can’t see the ducks, but they were there.

Such a lovely relaxing trip! I think I had forgotten how to relax and though I never fully remembered, I did get some nice rest and experienced a lot of great beauty and chill Hawaiian vibes!

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Cancer, Creative Process, Gratitude, Musings, News / By Kate Kohler

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

I want to make some noise about this cancer, that is too often diagnosed late. Please, help me spread the word!

Here are some places that are doing really good work:

Read my blog post about ovarian cancer symptoms and what to watch out for.

I will walk 60 miles in 30 days to help raise money and awareness for Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance.

I have teal heart earrings on etsy available. And for the month of September I will include a teal cancer awareness ribbon pin and a $5 donation to Ovarian Cancer Research.

Remission

Cancer, Creative Process, Gratitude, Music, Musings, News, Photos / By Kate Kohler

Journal Entry 8/2/23

I am in remission. Officially. Was told by two different doctors that I can say the word remission and mean it. It feels like it’s not real, but it is.

Cancer has changed me in so many ways, I don’t think I can even describe the scope of it. but I’ll try to tell you some of the things.

There are some obvious changes.

If you look at my belly you will see a foot long scar (pubes to boobs). It’s healing nicely and I have unexpected impulses to show it to people.

I am still bald, but my hair will grow back. I’m almost tempted to keep it shaved. It’s my cancer card. My excuse for having groceries delivered (the delivery drivers don’t seem nearly as judge-y when you answer the door with a bald head).

Inside of me there are a whole bunch of parts missing. Thankfully, I don’t seem to miss them at all. Although their absence creates some menopause like discomforts, like hot flashes and heart racing and vaginal dryness, but we don’t need to talk about that.

I think I escaped most of the neuropathy, but I do have some tingles in a couple of fingers on my right hand sometimes.

Less obviously is the tiredness that comes from the treatments. They say that recovery time is 2 months per 1 month of treatment, so I should be back to something like normal in about a year. Although because I’m on a maintenance drug that may take longer. In lessons and socializing with friends, I seem to have enough energy to act “normal”, but then I definitely need a nap that afternoon, or the next day.

My brain doesn’t work as fast as it once did. And I sometimes get words mixed up as they are coming out of my mouth. It could be amusing, I guess, but mostly it’s just a little frustrating and I have to slow down and reset and have compassion for myself and speak slower.

My spirit is struggling to make sense of the cancer still, but more than that, I’m examining my life and the way I spend my time. The things that I want to do with the time I’ve got left.

Because cancer reminds you, that you will die. Hopefully I’ll still get to be an old lady with long white hair, but I don’t know that for sure anymore.

And so, I rest. I play. I love. I write. And I try to create more music, because my voice is most easily expressed in music.