A New Perspective on Life

I’m here in the middle of an Oncology treatment room; here I sit with my friend, who has cervical cancer. Today she is only being hydrated, not like the many others here who are being treated with Chemotherapy for their cancer. The room is lined with reclining chairs to make everyone as comfortable as possible. Each one sitting with their own IV poles beside them, dispensing various Chemo treatments, along with many other meds, to make them relax and to alleviate the nausea. Two or three nurses are constantly patrolling the room, assuring everyone is doing well, checking monitors, polite small talk and so on. These nurses, I can’t say enough about, their smiles and friendly inquiries always put their patients at ease. If you’ve never been in an oncology office, it is an enlightening experience, weather you’re a patient or not.
I have to say, I’m sure my perspective is much different than my girl friends.
There are things and conversations going on all around me, and it could make ones head spin. Names of drugs one can’t pronounce, or spell, So many things I never knew or even thought about before. There are people you would never recognize out on the streets, yet here they sit, reclined with an IV in their arms. They live, so it seems to us, never knowing the trial they bare to prolong the inevitable.
Some are young, some old, some talking, and some quietly resting. There's a husband receiving his treatment with his wife sitting at his side. Another man in good spirits, bragging to a nurse about his wonderful wife of 40 years and they just celebrated their wedding anniversary last week. Others are dozing as the Chemotherapy that fills their veins in efforts to kill the cancer cells. Some have hair and others without support a cap or scarf. And here sits my friend, resting in silence, a young mother of 4 children the oldest being only 6 years and the youngest not yet 16 months. I can only wonder what is running through her mind. As a mother I know it’s hard not to let your mind wonder about those precious little one’s future.
But as her and I both firmly believes there is a Creator in charge of everything and He promises us that He will not allow a trial more than we can endure, to all those whom love Him. So we rest in knowing this trial is meant for the glory of God in our life or death for our good.
The IV. Treatments ended for my friend, as we were leaving our hearts were heavy for a woman, who is beginning her treatment today. She was too familiar with the process, it was her second bout in 10 years with cancer, and she could not hide the anger from within her own heart. Cancer is not selective, only random through the eyes of men, and she was not happy with this turn of events. Her bitterness is clearly from one with a different perspective, a lonely heart with little hope.
With no surprise, my friend tried to offer her hope, by sharing her faith and an eternal perspective on life, one that doesn’t end just because our bodies do.

Remembering Mother

When I was a little girl my mother went off to work. Not because she felt she was unfulfilled or she had to prove something, No, she had too. My father had died and she had three kids to feed. Then her knight in shining armor came along a few years later and then she could stay home and take care of everyone; A Husband, three kids, a cat and a dog, sometimes. I guess you can say she still worked. She cooked and cared for the yard. She did all our laundry, ironing and the house was always clean. She would have breakfast ready before I’d go off to school and she’d be there when I came home. We’d always have a good meal around the dinner table together, so being late for dinner was always a great mistake (I remember paying dearly, on restriction ALL THE TIME!)
One of my favorite memories is seeing my mother vacuuming as I came home from school. But she wasn’t just vacuuming; she would have the radio on with big band music playing as she danced with the vacuum. She would grab my hand to replace her dance partner, (the old Kirby). She made me smile and feel special. Mom went to see me in school performances, and she was there to pick me up when I went home sick. Oh yeah, and she would sew my sister and I a fancy dresses for Christmas and Easter every year, my brother would get a new shirt. She must have made these while we were sleeping, I don’t remember ever seeing her do it. She managed to do all that before the knight rescued her and continued on after.
As we grew older she let us drive her around in the old Station Wagon until we could get our own license to drive. She taught us to be adults so when we left home we would know what to do. Okay, my mother wasn’t a saint or an angel, she was a mom just like many other moms in a time when women were content to show their love for their family by doing all the things today we pay others to do for us. But remember what a young Englishman once sang, “Money can’t buy me love.” And true love is an action, not empty words or “quality time”. Thank you Mom, for showing your love and giving me an example of what moms do. I hope my children will remember their mother fondly as they raise their own children in love as I strive to do.

Happy Mother’s Day, Paisley

A Plaid Mother's day

After much deliberation, My Mother and I have settled on a subject for our first post; Mothers day. What could be more appropriate to write about for the introduction of a mother/daughter blog? Mothers day is a chance to show how much I appreciate my mother and bask in the idea that one day my kids will shower me with gifts- woops! I mean Love. :)

I can remember one mothers day long ago when I was young and innocent and ignorant of the holiday going on around me. My father took me and my older sister to a department store to shop for a M.D. gift. I remember stumbling upon the mothers day booth that had been set up; paint your mother a flower pot! So that is what my sister and I gave my mother that year, some flowers in a customized flower pot. Looking back, I wonder if my dad sort of copped out of getting my Mom three expensive gifts this way. ... No. Probobly not. MY daddy's not that kind of guy. He was probably trying to get mom something that would remind her of our cute youthfulness. Maybe hoping she would save them and show them in our wedding slideshows (My dad has a thing for slide shows). My mother actually did keep those pots around for quite a while, I remember! That is how it is with Mother's Day gifts. Now that I'm older, I love buying my mom something with my own money. It makes me happy to know that maybe, if I buy the right gift, just maybe, my mom can use the thing I bought for her and it will make her happy! *sigh*>hugs self<

However, Mothers day isn't completely about gifts (I mean, it's not gift day after all. That's in August.) Mom's day is about Moms, and here-after I promise to try and avoid redundent sentances in this blog, but only here-after. Yet as I write I find myself compelled more and more to write about the stuff you can get on Mothers Day. I remember that I musn't say anything about what I plan to get my mom this year because I want to surprise her. I remember that she has submitted a request for a Vespa and I must graciously decline to fulfilling it. I also remember thinking that it's still classy and sweet to serve breakfast in bed to her. But look! All that I want to talk about has to do with gifts! Just goes to show how much I get caught up in material things. I'd love to be able to divert the end of this blog to focus on something of value, so I'll give it a shot.

Mom, I don't have words for how much you mean to me. I am so fortunate to have you in my life. Sometimes, when I take you for granted, I say stupid things, and I am sure there's still time in my life to say more stupid things, but now I'm hoping I am saying some thing smarter-er than ever. Mom, your my superhero and they should put you on a wheaties box with an american flag for a cape.

Happy Mothers day and until next week,

Plaid