Four Years

Four Years

It is hard to believe that it has been four years since I became cancer free.  There are days that I feel like it was just yesterday that I was sitting in the chair getting a round of chemo infused into my body.  I still experience many side effects from the chemotherapy on a regular basis which often reminds me of my past journey.  Some of these side effects have become the new normal.  Then there are days when I totally forget about the needle pricks and the journey seems so long ago.  It is important to remember to take each day for what it is worth and to live that day to the fullest.  It is important to surround yourself with happiness.  Smiling and laughing are contagious and are the best kind of medicine to have.  This past Thanksgiving, I ran an 8K with my husband and some friends from the community.  It was a wonderful morning.  The weather was perfect and I ran a nice race.  I am looking forward to making this a yearly tradition.  Thank you for all your support throughout the year.  I wouldn't be where I am today without all of you! Here is to another healthy year!

Summer 2015

Summer of 2015

The summer of 2015 definitely beat the summer of 2011.  I know that I have not blogged in a while.  I know that some of my biggest fans like to know how I am doing.  Here is my latest update.

I met with my oncologist and breast surgeon this past July.  I am happy to report that they both said that I am doing well.  I went for a breast MRI and the results came back clean. 

We did another summer of camp mommy.  A great time was had by all. We did bike riding, picnics, swimming, library time, Hershey Park, drove a boat, cut my hair and donated it and visited friends and family in the northeast.  I visited with my brother in Wisconsin and ran NJ's toughest 5k (and finished the race). Of course there were a few days where we did nothing.  There were mornings were we slept in and nights were we stayed up late.  It was a successful summer!

This summer I joined a group called Moms on the Run of Essex County.  It was really a game changer.  

I met some really awesome people. 

I met up with people in the mornings for early runs.

 I met up with people for Sunday morning runs.

I met up on the track on Mondays with our kids to exercise and train as a family. 

Running doesn’t come easy for me.  It is hard for me to find sneakers that help ease some of my foot pain. There are so many times that I just want to stop running shortly after I start. (I know that others feel this way).  I read this great article written by a young lady about running.  It discussed her love/hate relationship with running. It hit home on so many points.  Here are my thoughts on running.

 I hate getting up out of bed when it is still dark out to go run.

I hate running up the hills back to my house. 

I hate running in the humidity. 

I do love the feeling after I have completed a run.

I think it is awesome that I can get 12,000 steps by 7:30 in the morning. 

I love the fact that I can run.  I may be slow but I can do it.  There are so many people that don’t have the ability to get up and run.  It wasn’t that long ago that it was really hard for me to even walk a block without getting exhausted or winded. 

Running with these moms have helped me regain my strength and not be so lazy this summer.  My children are older and I could have slept to eight or nine on a regular day. Joining this group has sort of forced me to get moving early on. Lori has been so inspiring and so encouraging.  She has run with me at my slow pace but has pushed me to run a little faster each time.  She has helped me get my family up and moving this summer.  My daughters both have run three miles.  That is a huge accomplishment for them.  That would not have been possible without Lori and her constant encouragement.  Kathleen is pretty comical to run with.  She is not a running fanatic.  She is always making us smile and laugh as we take on the next challenge.  She might complain about not being a true runner but she is pretty darn awesome! Carole is the only person I know that can go away on vacation for a month and come back in better shape.  She is always trying new things to challenge herself.  Her challenges end up challenging the rest of us.  It has turned out to be a pretty awesome group of people I have met this summer.

I think one of the most important outcomes of this group is that it has held me accountable this summer.  Without a current race on my calendar it is hard to get motivated to run. Feeling like others are counting on you to show up at 5:30am makes you get up out of bed.  Knowing that others are there and will make you work hard and challenge yourself and also laugh is very motivating.

This coming September I will be running a 5k with E.  We will walk/run it.  If you are local and want to run with us, please let me know.  Even though I don’t have a race locked into place, I have a few challenges that I have set for myself that I hope to accomplish over the next few months.  Challenging oneself is always a good thing. 

 

 E ran three miles and did the first mile without stopping.  She has truly amazed me this summer. 

It has been a great summer. I am sad to see it go.  I am looking forward to all the fun that awaits me in the future. Here is to a great 2015-2016 school year.

 I love seeing all these smiling faces when I enter my classroom everyday!

Remember:

Birthday Fun!

Birthday Fun:

For anyone that knows me, birthdays have always been my favorite time of year.  From count downs to all week celebrations, I have done it all.  Getting sick has definitely put a different spin on my birthday.  Getting well, has taught me that I need to enjoy every day and live it up!  Today, I turned 37.  It is an odd number, nobody really throws parties at 37. Well…..this year, I threw myself a party.  Here are some fun pictures from my day.

Streamers across the room, fun ones in the doorway to walk through.  I princess table cloth with juice and cookies for the homeroom.  The homeroom also got glow sticks and fun presents.  I know, I know, Best Teacher Ever!

Throughout each class, I told corny birthday fun jokes every 3-4 minutes.  Here were some of my favorites:

Why were the elephants thrown out of the pool?  They couldn't keep their trunks up.

Why didn't the skeleton go to the party?  He had No-body to go with.

What do you get when you cross and bear and a skunk?  Winnie- the Pooh.

Perfect jokes for my 6th graders!

Dollar Store Special, Flower headband.  I pretty much wore this all day long.  Even after I took it off, I felt like I was wearing it. 

Flowers from my wonderful husband!  Thanks Stephen, I love them!

Pizza, cake and .....

Selfies....


It was an amazing day.  I loved every moment of it.  Thank you to all the people that called, texted, or wrote on my facebook page.  I gave out more hugs today, than some of you would believe.

Remember, you only live once and life is way too short.  It is important to love those who are dear to us and truly live each day!

Jen Berta get ready for next year........365 days of planning and prepping!

Face of a Champion!

All day long I thought about what to put in my blog. I have not written in a while.  I feel like today is a day that should be written about.

Today I ran the Komen 5k race for the third year in a row.  This year I ran it without my sister- in-law, without my husband, and without my Sunday morning running partner.  To be brutally honest, my heart was not in it this year. I have been in a funk for a while.  Although I look like a 36 year old on the outside, I am really like an 85 year old on the inside. This is just one of the many side effects of the medicine that I take to keep the cancer from returning.  Sometimes it is just hard to have a body of an 85 year old when you mind wants to be like a 36 year old. (if that make sense)

Don’t get me wrong, I am truly grateful to be alive and I really try to live every day to its fullest.  However, there are some days that are just harder than others.  There are days that I wish I could just crawl back into bed and not push through the pain I feel in my feet or joints.  However, being a mom, you can’t really just crawl back into bed and forget the world for a day or two.  Being a mom forces you to push past the pain and persevere.

          

        I started the race and was feeling ok.  There were points where I wanted to stop and walk.  There were moments where I said “it is just a race, I don’t have to run it all.”  But there were stronger moments where I said “don’t stop, keep going, don’t let yourself down, show the cancer who is the real boss, you never give up and you won’t start now, show the medicine that it can make you gain weight and cause you to hurt all the time but it won’t stop you.”  I ran hard at the end.  I had a high school classmate at the finish line who gave me a great high five!  Thanks Kurt for being at the end of the race, it totally helped me finish strong.

          So here is my after race picture:  

This is my champion face!  I am about 10 pounds heavier than last year but I ran it 30 seconds faster!  As Margaret Newman said “determination and the fighting spirit prevailed!”

Here are some other pictures from my day.  These pictures show why I get up every morning.  In the end the people around us make it so much easier to live life.

We celebrated Elisheva's 8th birthday with a tea party with her friends from school.

Shua scored a goal at his game today!

Spending time with loved ones!

Catching moments like this.....precious!