June was an emotional month in a lot of ways. As we celebrated birthdays, hiked nature trails and perused farmers market stalls fear tangled itself within my happiness. Try as I might to push it aside, I fell asleep most nights worrying about my upcoming surgery. Luckily, I had Ian at my side and he continued to push me to enjoy the moment and make the most of each day.

It was easy to follow his advice at the beginning of the month because we celebrated his 26th birthday! Since a lot of our friends live in the Milwaukee area, we decided to drive down for the weekend and let our inner child out at the Dave & Busters arcade.

After our bellies were full of ice cream cake, we packed up the car for another road trip. This time our destination was Mt. Horeb! We spent the weekend catching up with Ian’s family, checking out the renovated museum and playing bingo at the Summer Frolic.

As each week passed I was more aware that my surgery was approaching. To keep my mind off of it, Ian drove me to Whitefish Sand Dunes State Park. We enjoyed a picnic on the beach, hiked out to the caves and danced in the rain.

Then, in the middle of the week Ian and I had the pleasure of showing my parents around the Farmers Market. They were on their way home from Door County and decided to make a pit stop and see us for a night! We had so much fun hearing about their trip and catching up we stayed out until 10pm! I was a bit sleepy when my alarm went off for work the next morning, but it was all worth it!

At last, I couldn’t ignore the date on the calendar. It was surgery day. I could feel all the prayers and well wishes that were sent my way because instead of feeling anxious, I was calm. The surgery went better than expected and I was able to go home that afternoon. While we were confident the tumor was benign, hearing that the test results were negative was a huge relief.

My mind is often my thief of joy, so I was thankful I had supportive friends and family around me this month. They all encouraged me to stay positive and make the most of each moment without shadowing it in fear. Looking back, we had a busy month filled with love and adventure – even with my surgery looming on the calendar. I’m beyond relieved to have it behind me and I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things as I reach the end of my recovery time!