"This Woman's Work"

I woke up this morning with a full days work ahead getting ready for our breast cancer fundraiser, or as I call it, my mom's party.  At 8 am I started writing emails, calling people, running errands, basically getting as much in line as I possibly could.  A full 16 hours later and I am not finished yet.  The Cliffs Notes version goes like this....I picked up donations, sought out more donations, worked on food and beverages (thanks for your help, Michael), worked on signs (Kater, I love you), made runs to both Sam's Club and Costco (Dad, you couldn't be more help), and started my project of making hundreds of little breast cancer ribbons.  And that's just a quarter of it.  I am exhausted right now.  But this woman's work is over for the night.

My mom and dad dancing

As I was just about to go to bed, I decided to watch a link my friend Jess left me on Facebook.  Within a couple seconds I could tell it was a clip from my parent's favorite show, So You Think You Can Dance.  Melissa, the female dancer, explains how their dance for the night is about breast cancer.  Immediately I felt goose bumps cover my arms.  I would never call myself an expert on dance, but I am on my way to becoming much more knowledgable than I ever wanted to be on breast cancer.  And this dance nailed it.  I honestly felt like I was watching my mom and dad in this dance (they love to dance).  Now, don't get me wrong, my mom and dad don't dance like Melissa and Ade (sorry guys), but I could see so much of their story, our story, in this dance.  The first part of the dance, I can so easily picture my mom on the ground, stunned by her diagnosis, "How could this be?"  I think we all had that moment on the ground.  My dad picks her up and holds onto her as they go through the whirlwind of deciding on a treatment plan.  It was more like a tornado for us at this point in her cancer story.  They fight together, through surgeries, through different opinions from Oncologists and surgeons, appointment after appointment, phone call after phone call.  Together they make the most difficult of decisions.  She falls again, but he picks her up.  The song in the background sings....

Pray God you can cope, 

I'll stand outside, 

This woman's work, 

This woman's worth.

I know you've got a little life in you yet,

I know you've got a lot of strength left,

I know you've got a little life in you yet,

I know you've got a lot of strength left,

Give me your hand.

I should be crying but I just can't let it show,

I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking,

All the things I should've given but I didn't,

Oh, darling make it go,

Just make it go away...

The dance continues.  Together they go through the ups and downs, both struggling to deal and make sense of it all, but again, he lifts her up when she is down.  Individually, as well, they battle in a time of crisis, the reality is so hard to face.  The dance ends with Melissa on Ade's shoulder, linked together, Melissa higher than she could ever stand alone.  I pray to God every minute, of everyday, that this is the way my mom's dance ends, with her lifted higher than she ever was, and my dad right by her side.

The title of the song, This Woman's Work, really put things in perspective for me tonight.  I had a long, busy day, but the work paled in comparison to the work my mom has in front of her.  Everything she faces on a daily basis now is so much more work than it used to be.  Not only does she have to deal with the emotional roller coaster of being a cancer survivor (a person is considered a survivor the minute they are diagnosed), but every task, small or big, takes much more effort, from a weaker mind and body.  So tonight, I go to bed as I always do, thanking God for the abundant blessings He has given me, especially the strength of my mom, the strength of my parents.  She will survive.

Not my mom's favorite picture, but it's one of mine.
Better to ask for forgiveness than permission!

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." - Vivian Greene