Be good to your mama!

 At Mom's house in August 2010

My mom turned 72 this week.  I am so proud of her because she is a 15 year breast cancer survivor...15 wonderful years, I might add.  But in the beginning, when we first got the news, her future seemed bleak.  Of course, none of us can predict when God will call us home; but when the C-Word is mentioned?  Well most of us think of it as a death sentence. 

I remember getting the call very clearly (or as clearly as I can remember from back then).  Mom was to have a lumpectomy right away.  It was nearing the end of the school year, so I did what any radical overreacting person would do if they found out their mom had cancer; I quit my job teaching second grade in The Woodlands, and prepared to move back home.  Of course, I waited until school was out, and until I had another job waiting in the wings, but I just wanted to be there for my mom.  She had been there for me through so much.  I needed to be a part of her recovery.  It was God's plan for me anyway.  Great things happened to me when I moved.  I met Pete!

Mom ended up having to have several lymph nodes removed as well as the lumpectomy, so she was very sore for quite a while.  But she was adamant about not feeling needy and remained strong through it all.  Luckily, she only had to have radiation and take Tamoxafin for five years.  She just had her annual check-up with the oncologist and is good to go for another year (thank you Jesus).

Which is why I am angry about something that happened in church a few Sundays ago (yeah church, of all places).  Mom has been having allergy problems and recurring sinus infections, so when a lady sat behind us hacking, sneezing and wheezing, Mom chose not to shake her hand during the peace offering. Mom did turn around and look at her, and Mom has been known for her "looks," but this woman really overreacted. 

After church, she went up to my mom and chewed her out for not shaking her hand!  Can you believe that?  She went on and on about how she coughed in her sleeve and wasn't contageous.  This lady was a raving lunatic, but my poor mom just stood there real strong and took it.  She did not say one word back.

If only that woman knew where my mom was coming from, she might have acted differently... who knows?  I do know one thing.  I would never want to shake the hand of someone so ugly (acting).  The sad thing is that I know her.  She probably did not see me further down in the pew, but I saw her (couldn't have missed her actually).  And I watched her huff and puff out into the parking lot to face the battle of rude cars honking, cutting and hurrying to get home.

Moral of the story:  Enjoy each day as if it's your last and don't sweat the small stuff, but most important- LOVE ONE ANOTHER!