I had lots of good intentions for posting this on Mother’s day, but sometimes life gets in the way of your plans. You know? I sure do! Warning: This post is long.
I had THE BEST weekend. My brother-in-law’s sister (are you following that) got married Friday night in Lubbock, so Kathryn, Kellen, and my sweet nephew were in Grand Prairie on Saturday night for a layover on their way home. From the pictures, I can tell that Morgan was the most beautiful bride. Kate and Cora were the most precious flower girls, and Blake was the cutest, sweetest, ring bearer pulled via wagon I ever did see. Two words: Baby tie.
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We spent Saturday night in Grand Prairie, and went to church with my parents on Sunday morning. It was good to be home. I got lots of hugs and prayers, and I can’t even begin to tell you how good that was.
We then headed to Arlington for lunch to spend some time with Bill and Colleen (Connor’s parents) and Grandma Helen. I also got a great nap. Excellent afternoon.
After that we headed back to GP for a graduation party for my cousin Jane, so my weekend was filled with lots and lots of family time. So. Good.
Now for the point of this post: I wanted to take a minute to say “I love you” to some of the mamas in my life:
First, I want to say thank you to my friend, Emily, who is a mama to be, due in September. Emily sent me flowers on the Saturday after the diagnosis (my hardest day). They arrived while I was lying in bed feeling sorry for myself, and googling things I shouldn’t have been googling. I cried when they arrived. These were my first happy tears, and the flowers helped me to get out of bed and face the unknown.
My mother in law, Colleen. This lady made ME lunch on mother’s day, and then let me mess up the clean sheets in their guest room because I was so emotionally and physically exhausted and needed a nap. She is such a hard worker, and loves her family fiercely. Most of the time I don’t even realize how hard she is working, because she is just quietly doing it while we are all sitting around. I’m so glad to have her.
Grandma Helen. This is Connor’s grandma who the first time I met her, waved me down with a napkin on a neighborhood street, so I would know which house was the right one. She is hilarious, and always says EXACTLY what she is thinking. When we told her the news, her first words were, “What!? But you have no breasts!” Oh my goodness, I am still laughing about that. Right after, however, she grabbed my hand and said, “Jessica, I couldn’t love you any more if you were my own daughter. This isn’t what it used to be, and you will beat this.” Exactly what I needed to hear.
My dad’s sister, Aunt Kay. She was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was in college. It was very advanced when they caught it, and she passed away a few years after her diagnosis. She and my Uncle David lived in Lubbock while I was in college and were always there for me when I needed them. Her biggest love was her grandchildren, and she hung in there just long enough to meet my cousin Heather’s son, Daniel. I miss her so.
My sister, Kathryn. I am so thankful for the beautiful mama she has become. Her sweet Blake waves at me on facetime, and just makes everything better. Kathryn and I used to fight as kids. Like a lot. I think it has made our bond so much stronger though... I just love her so much, and I know I can tell her anything and everything, and she will be there for me.
Lastly, my mama. I draw so much strength from her. We took a trip to Europe when I was 18 – just the girls. We had one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, where everything went wrong. She sat us down in a seedy train station in Paris and said, “We are STRONG TEXAS WOMEN and we can do this.” She has always been there cheering me on, and this time is no different. I will get through this, with my mama standing behind me showing me the way. I love you, Mama.
Whew, that was long. Thank you everyone for the comments, playlist suggestions, hugs, prayers, good juju, etc. Keep it coming. I haven’t had a chance to respond to all of them yet, but I will, I promise.
Love y’all,
Jess
Hey Jess!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe you are going through this. Ever since I heard the news, I have been visiting this page and your Facebook page daily just to see if there are any updates. Sometimes I wonder why bad things happen to good people, and then I remember that God only deals the difficult hands to the strongest players, so as weird as it sounds, take it as a compliment. You are strong, courageous, and thorough, which is all the characteristics you need to beat this. A good friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer in October and just finished Chemo and is now in radiation. It has been THE hardest thing she has gone through. Sometimes she wants to talk to everyone, get encouragement and uplifting words, but sometimes she wants to be a hermit and just be alone and not talk to anyone. Just know that however you feel, whether it be open or closed, that is totally OK. We are here to support you and help any way we can and if that means to leave you alone for a few days or a week, then we will. We are all sitting on the edge of our seats wondering how you are and hoping you will call on us for help and support. I am so sorry you have to go through this but the good thing is that you are not going to do it alone. You have hundreds of people cheering you on, and I'm one of them.
The song I really jam out to right now is Hey Brother by Avicii. It's kind of cliche because it's all over the radio, but if you listen to the words, it's quite fitting. It's about a guy who will do anything to help his brother and sister out. If you get the extended version, there's more instrumental spots in the song, and as a retired band nerd, I like when there are more instrumental spots. :)
I know we haven't really talked much since TBS and didn't talk much in college, but I really looked up to you and I still do. You were always so nice and caring. I'm glad I have been able to keep up with you through the years on this crazy thing called Facebook, and I'm glad I get to be on your team during this fight. Go get 'em, girl!!