My husband sits opposite me, eating his dinner, rolling his eyes at every complaint I make.
"Writing a first blog post is hard." "Can you write my first blog post?" "You're a terrible husband for not helping me through this tough time."
I've typed and deleted about five different beginnings now, so you know what, we'll just have to make do without one. No witty, quirky or funny introduction to break the ice - let's just go straight into who I am and what this blog is about.
My name is Naaila. That's pronounced 'Ny-la' for all those furrowed brow people attempting to decode that. I'm 23, married to a pretty great bloke, and have no kids, although not by choice - you see, this thing called 'cancer' got in the way of that. You may have heard of it; it's this pesky little thing which decides to interfere with life plans.
I was diagnosed in January 2013, and up till a few weeks ago, didn't publicise the news - why bother? People would be sympathetic for a few moments, and then life would happen - and no one would remember. Not that I mind - in fact, in my experience, I've found those moments to be rather uncomfortable for both parties. And the messages and calls. Oh boy, are those awkward.
So why bother publicise the news now? Well, a few reasons actually. You see, I've been through a fair bit since the beginning, and have learnt a lot in this last year and a half. What's that phrase? 'Experience is the best teacher...' or something along those lines. Yes, that applies. So why not share lessons? I've also been extremely bored recently. The diagnosis has meant that I am unable to work, and there is only so much shopping, painting, photographing and whatsapping a girl can do. Also, I've been feeling rather creative lately - I've always loved writing, and the hubby insists I'm pretty good at it, so why not?
My life isn't exactly the most interesting one - it's pretty normal, actually - I tend to stay at home a lot, I visit friends and family when I can, I pursue certain hobbies (which I'm not very good at) and I travel down to London to visit the hospital every three weeks.
So nothing too exciting, but I will attempt to write when I can, share what I can and most importantly, teach what I learn.
And who knows, with a hint of artistic license, writings on cancer and other stuff may even make for some interesting reading...
