A pretty amazing woman

I've been feeling the need to write about my mom.  She's a pretty amazing woman, but just recently we were talking and I started thinking about what a selfless person she is, and I felt the need to share.

If you know me, you know that my folks-- especially my mom-- do a lot for me.  There's rarely a day that passes that my mom and I don't talk.  My mom always knows what's going on in my life and is always wanting to help in some way.  She just told me today that she woke up at midnight last night because she wasn't sure that I had made it home okay! 

This is nothing new in my life, though.  My mom has always looked out for both my brother and me.  And while my family, including my dad, my brother, his wife, and kids, are very close, my mom is definitely the proverbial glue that bonds us all together.  That's not to say that I wouldn't be close with my brother, sister-in-law and their kids without my mom... it's just that she's intricately woven into our relationships.

You might know that my mom is a cancer survivor... the day after I found out I was pregnant with Ella in January 2003, my mom found out she probably had cancer.  Then, about a week later, the doctors confirmed it was non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, the doctors declared her cancer-free.  It wasn't an easy year, but she came through it with strong determination and even stronger faith.  And it hasn't been an easy recovery emotionally for her, but she has remained strong through it all.

What is amazing about my mom is that she has taken her experience and stood by several friends and acquaintances through their cancer experiences.  She's waited at the hospital by a friend's side while her husband was in surgery to see if his cancer had spread; walked alongside another friend through breast cancer; stood by the casket of a young friend next to his mom in the midst of her own cancer journey; taken a friend's husband for his radiation treatments; listened to an old acquaintance talk of her discovery of breast cancer.... and through it all, she's lended her strength to these people because of her own survival.

But the most incredible part of all this-- and just about everything my mom does for others-- is that she does it without any fanfare or, oftentimes, recognition.  She doesn't make a show of it; she just lives her life reaching out to others and sharing her strength. 

Amazing, that woman. 

Mom, I hope I can be as self-less as you are in helping others.  I love you!