Last night I had to honor of spending some time alone with mom. She is in the middle of what has been a long and difficult week of treatment. Due to the chemo, she has had new side effects, these are treated with drugs that have more side effects, and then treated again. It is a vicious cycle, but we have seen some positive results. Our family has seen many miracles over the course of the past few weeks. We have faith in the Dr.'s and know that they have a plan that fits best for her type of cancer. Mom's worry is that the grandkids will only have memories of her being sick. I tried to assure her that they will remember all of the wonderful things she has done for them. And we also have faith that she will be able to get well, and hopefully, go on and enjoy many more years of life here on earth.
As I drove home from the hospital I started thinking about all of the wonderful things my mom has done for her family, and her grandkids. I remember that she cooked Sunday dinners for us for years. Even after I was married, and had children of my own, she always had dinner for us. Week after week. No matter how much work they were, she never failed. Planning, cooking, and cleaning for us. I have always felt that those family dinners are one of the reasons why our family is so close. Mom has always been willing to help out caring for the grandkids. She has attended dance recitals, soccer games, piano recitals, and school performances. She never forgets a birthday. Even planning special family birthday dinners every month of the year. I can hardly remember a week when she didn't have at least one or more kids over to tend. She and my dad watched the grandkids on weekends so we could go out, and even kept them for several days in a row while we were on various vacations. She also planned sleepovers for the kids to enjoy time with their other cousins. Every year she planned parties catered towards the grandkids for Valentines, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween and Christmas. She and my dad have taken us on countless family vacations, spent time in St. George and Midway, and just this past November took us all to Disneyland for the third time. I have had many friends comment over the years on what an amazing woman my mother is. Even more, as a grandma, her love and devotion are unparalleled.
What an incredible legacy. Love jenn
Dear JENNIFER,
ReplyDeleteYour Mom and I were blessed to be Cousins in this Life. And even though she is a couple of years older than myself, it was uncanny that we had all of our babies at the same times and they were even the same sexes! And NOW we have experienced being GRANDMAs at about the same rate of speed, as well as the number of Grandchildren that we've been given.
So, let me assure you (as you count your blessings to have such a Mom/Grandma) that as GRANDMAS, both she and I count ourselves as even having the greater blessing of our beautiful, loving and thoughtful posterity! It definitely goes BOTH ways!
Hang in there with her and your Dad (as he navigates his own personal challenges)!
Luvs, "Grandma TENA"