My lumpectomy was scheduled for Tuesday, August 5th. I'd been counting down the days as if I were preparing for my execution. I spent a lot of time reading the Psalms, which gave me much consolation. King David's supplications for deliverance from his afflictions and praise for God's mercies and compassions were the same prayers coming from my own heart. Our daughter had gone on the Mexico mission trip without us and she returned a week before my surgery. I was so happy to have her home and to hear about what a wonderful experience it had been for her. In the meantime, I had planned a three-day excursion for the weekend prior to my surgery, to Port Townsend, a picturesque town on the Washington peninsula. I didn't want to be tempted to sit around the house fretting about the surgery.