Yesterday, I earned my reputation as a good eater when I went to The Senator in Augusta and had lunch with Esther. Not only did I eat every bit of a lobster sandwich (not roll—this one was made with bread) and a pile of fries so large that it makes me blush to think that I only left a few, but I also ended with a thick chocolate mousse topped with real whipped cream, beat stiff just the way I like it. How did I feel afterwards? Full but great.

Yesterday was also the last day of radiation treatment for breast cancer, so my indulgences, seemed, well, fitting. I brought in a tin of homemade toffee bars for the radiation-oncology staff—mostly women—who have been so cheerful and full of loving-kindness these past six-and-a-half weeks. There is no way around this—it is both intimidating and scary to lie topless on a table day after day and get zapped by large doses of radiation. But Jane, Barbara, Roxanne, Becky, Alyssa, and Juanita made all the difference, and I am so grateful for the good care I received at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care in Augusta. As I left, the women gave me fond hugs and wished me well.

After that, it was onward to coffee cake and tea at Barnes & Noble and then to the Senator to meet Esther, a dear friend of my mother’s and a dear friend of mine as well. (My mother passed away two years ago.) Having lunch with Esther would have been treat enough, but she also brought me a basket of goodies—apple wine from Sweetgrass Winery in Union, Maine; a box of toasted green tea that I’m crazy about; homemade apple sauce; and a bright pink cyclamen.

Tonight, my husband, Clif, and I will be going to our daughter and son-in-law’s home for a celebratory meal, and I’ll bring the apple wine with us.

What a way to end treatment!