More Grace

More Grace during Cancer..........

My house cleaner of 5 years asking one day "Would you like me to make you a homemade bean recipe each week?" Boy, would I!! Her fresh home made bean soup, bean salad, and my favorite refried beans with all their vitamin B and protein helped get me well. Not to mention the tomatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil she always uses. Now, I’ve had my fair share of expert guacamole, salsa pica. I lived in San Diego and have traveled much of Central America but, I can tell you hers IS THE BEST. I tell her she’s got to open a restaurant or sell her food to one. She shyly answers "I’d like to do something like that, I don’t want to clean forever." What a woman. She’s taken care of my house much better than I can and when I needed it stepped up to care for me and the boys too.

The best yoga instructor in town coming to my house for free to teach me a personalized program after my quite involved, gnarly reconstruction surgery left me quite down. Yoga has strengthened me, helped me learn to breathe and become more calm. It makes me slow down and think of God and how I am in His hands each day. Jessica listened quietly as I shared how my first yoga class back at the gym ended me in tears because I could not even do the modified moves and the teacher was quite insensitive. We giggled together, focused on my Wyland dolphins together, shooed my boys out continuously and gave me back some confidence. Your gift may have not seemed that extraordinary to you, but it was everything to me. Thank-you.

One of the playground supervisor’s at my son’s school noticing that he was down one week. She promptly bought and gave him two small plush puppies. A blue one for him to keep and a pink one to give me. She keeps her caring eye on him and lets him "hang out" with her whenever he needs a gentle break from Elementary socialization. She always comes up with a fun "privileged" game for them to play. A fellow Mom of 3 and local, she’s found a job that works into her busy schedule. She gives all her intelligence, wisdom and creativity to it. We are so humbly grateful.

When my Cancer broke, my older son was in First Grade. His class made me 3 sets of home-made cards throughout that year. Their arrival didn’t seemed to be connected to any certain treatment. I found out later that whenever our son looked down or scared, the teacher knew it would help him to DO something. So, she would take time out of their very busy learning schedule and have them all write and illustrate their own loving cards. I kept every one! Several of the boys thought it was hysterical that I would get to wear a wig. I disappointed them cuz I never could get that thing to work. They begged me to show off my bald head. But, I knew from experience that what they think will be funny is actually a little shocking and saddening for young children so I only showed them a little peak of the front. That did the trick. Toward Spring, I joined the class on their field trip to the Carlsbad Flowers. I gripped the rail of the tractor trailer we were bouncing upon tightly as each jerk brought some pain because of the Taxol Chemo I was on. It was soo worth it, seeing my son beam at my presence. Oh, thank-you God, thank-you that I am still here.

In second grade, our son got a teacher who is a breast cancer survivor herself! As I continued to take Herceptin through an i.v., recover and fight anemia that whole year, and that Spring do my reconstructive surgery ( what was I thinking?) she was like a second Mother. Such kindness is God’s Grace and we do not take it for granted. These are the things and people who got us through.

You may be wondering about my other son. Well, he was in pre-school at our church those two years. And that says it all. Watched over by his Daddy, our church Staff and so many of you. The teachers gather for prayer every morning to ask for patience, strength, wisdom and courage throughout the day. They also pray for their students and their families. I found out that they had prayed for our youngest son and our family every single morning that year. As I write that, it still grips my heart. I was not able to bring snack for the class much, I didn’t get to know the kids or their parent’s as I usually do, I wasn’t the one taking our pre-schooler or bringing him home. I missed out. And I have grieved some the loss... But, I KNEW where he was and whom he was with and the love that surrounded him. I was able to get the precious rest I desperately needed to I could be a little more with it when he did get home.

I’m so happy to share that my big Kindergartner and I are having a great year. He gets out every day at 11:15 so we still have lots of time together. I’ve got to help some in his class and I ‘ve met Zack and Jake, Jade and Trent. In fact I could tell you about most of the 33 classmates (arg). That’s a ludicrous amount of students for kindergarten (or any grade for that matter). And my deepest respect for how the teacher’s handle it. I’ve become better at reviewing the ABC’S and their sounds and I’ve watched with joyful amazement at my little engineer math whiz. (I’m deficient in math). Ya know what’s cool? I have hair again and these kids have no idea what we have gone through. They see me as another healthy normal Mom helper. And that’s pretty great.

I still enjoy that most of the 3^rd graders do know however what we have been through. When they see me they shyly smile and nod like I remember you, I drew you a card in first grade. Huh, look at you, people do get well. At least I hope that’s what they think and acknowledge that they have a piece in my getting well.

Whoops, better go pick up that kindergarten!