Mimi

Mimi, my mom, has been on a journey.  Last year at this time, she really didn't know if she would be alive right now.  We planned a beach trip to Cape May about 8 months ago, and literally, she did not know if she would be present for that trip.  We just got back this weekend, and she made it!

The last few months have been nothing short of a miracle for our family.  My mom went to Johns Hopkins to get surgery on her cancerous tumor, which was located on her pancreas.  Prayers from near and far were heard.  Fast forward to today, and she no longer has cancer, but she also has no pancreas, gall bladder, spline.  She is thin and diabetic, but, she is alive.  Better put- she is living.

We are all embracing moments a little more these days, knowing that my mom could have been gone by now.  On February 3, she turned 62 years old, and along with our family, her best friend since childhood, Saundra, joined us for the evening.  We had a delayed Easter celebration, and mom even did her yearly tradition of egg hunt and prizes for the grandbabies.  Mothers Day was a sweet one, with a picnic on the porch and kids playing in the yard.  Any given visit on any day of the week is really miraculous, and we no longer take that for granted.

Tragic circumstances can do one of two things: 1) create a "Woe is me" attitude which beckons for empathy from others & festers a bitterness towards life or 2) stir up gratitude that has always been felt but never properly expressed, therefore seeing everyday events as the miracles that they truly are.

My family is so very thankful to have had a rich, memory-filled vacation with Mimi- healthy & joyful.  It is an incredible thing to be with the ones you love and to also realize how invaluable each member is... Especially when you know how close you came to being without them.

Ecclesiastes 3

A time for everything

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2         a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.