Absolutely Counts

🌼 Date: Wednesday, December 24, 2025

⚡ Energy: 🔋🔋🔋 (surprisingly decent)

💔 Status: Balding with dignity, functioning, mildly festive

🌞 Outlook: Cautiously optimistic, armed with clippers and sass

Today? Today was a pretty damn good day.

First things first: nausea barely showed up. 🎉
Like… barely RSVP’d. I’ll take that win and put it straight in my pocket.

Because I was feeling decent, I broke out the clippers and tightened up with a buzz cut. Showered afterward, and every time I touched my head my hands were covered in hair. Not falling out in dramatic clumps—just quietly letting go like, “Okay, I’m done here.” I even cleaned the drain with a tissue because I refuse to let chemo take my plumbing too.

Enter my sweet kid moment of the day:
Nicholas felt bad watching me deal with it, so he asked me to shave his head too. 🥹
We both went with the #3. I kept the top of mine a little longer and did the sides and back tighter. He went full #3 all the way around. Matching heads, matching courage. Not gonna lie—my heart cracked open a little.

I also checked in with the wig shop today, and friends… this is a resource everyone on this road should ask about.
In my area, there are a couple of places I can go, and I can actually get a FREE wig. Free. Zero dollars. Insurance-backed magic. The woman I spoke with was an absolute gem and said, “Everyone deserves at least one wig and a few hats in their arsenal.”
They’ve got wigs, hats, scarves—some free, some for sale—and I’m heading there on Friday.

Originally, I thought I’d go full eau natural.
But then I thought… wait a minute…
This might be my only chance to be blonde.
Casey is not a fan of blonde hair, which obviously means this is exactly the right moment to try it. I’ve been every color in the book except blonde. So… why not now? Chemo-era rebellion feels appropriate.

I may also have a couple of pink wigs sitting in my Amazon cart, but I’m holding off until after Friday. One impulsive hair decision at a time, Tina.

On the productivity front (who even is she?):
✔ Baking is DONE
✔ All presents are wrapped
✔ House is clean
✔ Ready for company

I am deeply thankful that Christmas landed on week 3 of my chemo cycle. That’s my “sweet spot.”
Here’s the rhythm, for those curious:

Week 1: Steroids → Tina on espresso
Then: Five days of self-injections (thrilling, truly)
Week 2: Things get rough
Week 3: I start to feel human again

That’s the pattern until mid-to-late February. On Monday, I start Round 2, and we ride the merry-go-round again.

Because I was feeling good, we kept one of our longest-running family traditions: going out to dinner on Christmas Eve.
This tradition exists because I used to procrastinate all my baking until Christmas Eve and then be way too tired to cook dinner. Instead of fixing my habits, we made it a tradition. Growth is overrated.
We’ve been doing this for at least 20 years.

Tomorrow, everyone comes here for Christmas Day. I do the dinner. I do the dessert. I am cautiously optimistic and aggressively hydrated. Wish me luck.

Tonight, I’m grateful.
Grateful for a calm stomach.
Grateful for a fresh buzz cut.
Grateful for a kid who said, “Me too, Mom.”
Grateful for resources, traditions, and a body that—on some days—still shows up ready to play along.

And today?
Absolutely counts. 💪🎄

💗
— Tina
One Badass Day at a Time

Absolutely Counts