I saw it in her eyes this morning.
A MOM standing with her youngest son, waiting for the school bus. A great Mom to her three kids and now she’s in the fight for her life. She has cancer and her treatment has begun. It’s such a departure from her regular life. The one where she was busy running errands, running kids…just running. But I saw it in her eyes this morning. She is full of HOPE. Her voice was strong, her spirits were up and if she was feeling even a tinge of discomfort from her chemo treatment, she didn’t, wouldn’t let-on in front of her son. Life is going to move along in the only gear those kids have ever known and that’s forward.
Some times, without even knowing it, when we keep the bad stuff to ourselves, it helps us move past it. How many times have you gone to work, not feeling well, but once you’re in the swing of the day, you forget all about it?
That can happen in cancer world too. Some days my most important job as a care giver was to keep Leroy’s mind off his cancer. We’d take walks, play cards, or play Monopoly. Oh, how he would love to build hotels on his properties and watch me land on every single one of them!!
The power of a laugh, a smile, a game. It can change a day. It can change a day living with cancer.
February 22, 2012 @ 10:53 am
Oh man, Laurie has so much caguore, right? I hope that she feels better and doesn’t have too much pain. You look so cute smiling away in the photo. Good job, J.
February 8, 2012 @ 7:01 pm
There are heroes all around us….just ordinary, everyday people….friends, neighbors, family….who soldier on in spite of the daily obstacles they face including cancer. Every chance we get, we should lift them up, pause a moment and tell them we are thinking about them, praying for them and their family. Many, so many, are in the fight and often it is a lonely fight especially for the caregiver. Even though everyone tries hard to help, the caregiver is most often left alone to do what is really required. After the initial flurry of activity getting everyone settled and in bed, the quiet begins and often that is when the thoughts, fears and what ifs seem to be at their worst. “Lord help me to make it through this night and let my loved one be there to greet me in the morning.”
I hope that this Mom has a caregiver and a support system to help her. Going it alone is just too hard to contemplate. Moms are tough, really tough and will do anything and everything for their family. But even Moms could use some support along the way when cancer has come calling.