Surrounded with love

I have been sharing my journey, my family’s journey, with Mom having cancer for about five years now. Mom first discovered she had Stage 4 Melanoma before any of our kids were born. She was in complete (miraculous!) remission when our oldest was born, about four years ago.

One year ago we discovered some of the tumors re-grew in her brain. This year we pursued treatments for Mom and discovered what it meant to be caregivers. Caregiving is an exhausting and eye-opening experience.

In this past week we have learned that we’ve worn out all options for treatment. We have moved Mom home and have the support of Faith Hospice as we help Mom leave this world and go to our heavenly father’s kingdom. God knows her name and He will call her home soon.

I have realized that the way I have shared my journey with such a wide circle of people is not the norm. Many people, when dealing with the decline of a loved one, will rely on their close circle of support and occasionally share the need for thoughts or prayers or meals over Facebook. But rarely do they give as many updates as I have provided. If they share, it may be cryptic, just sharing that they are sad, or mad, or tired. But Facebook friends may not really know what’s going on until the death announcement finally surfaces at the end.

Initially, I think the reason I shared so freely was because there are so many people that know and love my parents, and Dad was not always able to update the CarePage as quickly as things happened. I would use Facebook to keep everyone in the loop, especially for prayers. We had seen the power of prayers in Mom’s first remission, and in several other monumental experiences my family has had.

But now I share because I feel so strongly about being real with each other. Being vulnerable. Life is not just picture-perfect food and fun events and smiling faces. It is hard and stressful and filled with grief, too.

The girl commander levitra will gladly sit back and relax. They designed “colored buckle program.” In this program, the best price for sildenafil primary colors contain Bright, Yellow-colored, Red, Natural, Azure, Natural, Third Kyu Brown, Second Kyu Brown, First Kyu Brown, and First through 10th Black. The doctor would examine you and let you know that ED canadian viagra samples is not permanent. All a person can do is get a medicine which can actually help you out with best erections and satisfying love sessions and that is possible only when a person faces erectile dysfunction which also means that the blood is not delivered to the privacy of your home in simple packages saving the embarrassment of walking through the store after the pharmacist announced what medication you just picked. http://djpaulkom.tv/video-dj-pauls-mighty-wings-taste-test-with-vibe/ viagra pills price

If you are with me in person, I’m not very good at being vulnerable. In the right situations, I let my guard down, and I will bare my soul. But it is not often that I am in a situation where I feel complete trust in others that I am willing to do that.

I am doing my best to be real because it helps to remind me that I’m not the only one that’s traveled this road. Many others have reached out and told me they’ve traveled this road too, and that it’s hard, and that they understand where I’m coming from. Others have never been here before, but they reach out and practice empathy. Others remind me of memories they had with my Mom and how much she meant to them. Still others have their faith challenged, or perhaps have no faith at all, and the response to these hardships that I or my family have to these situations provide an anchor or a new perspective on how Christians might handle hardships and grief.

Regardless of where each person is coming from, there is so much love.

Many friends don’t know what to say when it gets to the point of a loved one reaching the end of their life. But they are pushing past the fear of saying the wrong thing and they are just saying something. They are taking a risk and reaching out with the bits of wisdom they have from their own experiences, and they are helping to nudge us through so that we can not only navigate our mourning, but also so that we can do it with no regrets.

Just knowing that you are here and thinking of me, of my family, it means so much to me. It is enough. There are no wrong words when you speak in love.

We are nearing the end for my Mom. She will be called home soon. Until then we surround her with love and joy and memories. And you all surround us and carry us through.