Ok so I have an AMAZING friend, fellow Cancer Mom who inspires me with (what I call) her "Beautiful Life". She's so real and positive, curious and funny. She's truly amazing.
You see in the midst of the fear, trauma, confusion, stress and overall craziness of walking through cancer with our child we still know that we are moms. They are kids. Fun is fun. Life is life, no matter what it looks like today. The fact is, we have Today and we are not guaranteed a tomorrow.
I don't know if walking through a life threatening sickness with a child amplifies this knowledge or not, but I do know that I've learned to take advantage of the time I have with my family. It could have been taken away but... it wasn't.
Today, I have another opportunity to share LIFE with my husband and kids, to experience the beauty, joy, peace and excitement of the moments. Sure, sometimes in the hospital it was extremely difficult to find the positive, it was extremely difficult to find joy. I guess in those times we just held on to each other and cried it out then started fresh again with a gratefulness that we were walking through it together.
So, now that summer vacation is here and my kids are home from school (allllll day long) and in honor of my Cancer Mom friend, I have taken up the challenge to live a "Beautiful Life - Summer Vacation Edition". I won't compete and compare my life with others, rather I'll find the beauty in my daily life experiences and help highlight those with my kids. We will do it together and be awe struck by the little miracles, thankful for the small things, and conscious of our valuable time together.
Haha, there may be days this summer where I'd rather curl up in a ball and cry for lack of entertainment ideas! However, like those long days in the hospital I'll just stop, take a few breaths and find the joy in being together. THAT alone is a reason to celebrate! Here's to Summer Vacation 2014, go experience it together!
