A Reason to Celebrate
"Joy is the echo of God's life within us."
Joseph Marmion
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| Mom surrounded by family, neighbors and close friends. |
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| Such a sweet time! LOTS of food, drink & Sees candy and floral arrangements for mom 😃 |
What brings you joy and delights your soul? It is really such an individual thing. I thought for the longest time that everyone delighted in birds or wending their way through nurseries to look at plants and flowers. Turns out, that isn't the case. However, I do think most of us derive a lot of joy from celebrations.
A week ago Saturday, September 10th approximately 40 family and friends gathered at mom and dad's home to celebrate a wonderful occasion: Ann was back at home and on the home stretch of her 30+ radiation treatments. The weather may have been gloomy but mom was radiant. Rose, caregiver extraordinaire, did a beautiful job on mom's hair and makeup. She was wearing a blue graphic t-shirt her sister, Moira had recently given her which reads: "My sister has a pretty awesome sister... just sayin'." True. 😀
Ann is through and through an extrovert and she was taking it all in: lively conversations, noshing/drinking, as well as all the love that was palpable in the air. What a blessing that mom had stamina for the entire party (although when she needed a little break from conversing with friends and family she spent some time watching the SC football game). The party also was an opportunity for Ann to experience a very tangible expression of how deeply she is cherished.
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| A few photos of a very picturesque Zihua. |
I am writing this blogpost from Zihuatanejo, Mexico. When I made plans for this trip months ago life felt very normal/uneventful and mom was seemingly quite healthy. It has been a gift to have this time away to enjoy God's gorgeous creation and to be refreshed. It's been a joy to periodically text mom and dad pics of my adventures here since they vacationed in Zihuatanejo with my sister, Cassandra and her husband, Gene a few years ago.
Mom is still recovering from radiation and chemotherapy, which ended almost a week ago. Dad told me today via text that she is sleeping a lot (though she is more alert in the mornings) and her appetite isn't as strong right now. However, this is pretty typical after treatment. Hopefully she will soon regain her appetite and need fewer hours of sleep as her body recovers.
Dulce, the newest caregiver for whom we'd been waiting, began a week ago today. Mom and dad are very happy with Dulce, which is another big blessing. So, all in all we have much for which to be thankful. Amen?
Praise & Prayer Requests:
- Praise: for the "Welcome Home" party (of course). Thank you to everyone who was able to be a part of such a special and joy-filled time.
- Praise: for mom completing radiation and the first round of chemotherapy.
- Praise: for Nora, Rose and Dulce who have each been straight-up gifts from God as caregivers for mom AND for the ways they have made life so much easier for dad and the family. We are so, so grateful!!!
- Prayer: for mom to regain her appetite and to feel more energy in the days/weeks to come.
- Prayer: for mom to continue to improve with walking, etc. (She has already made good strides ~ see what I did there?)
- Prayer: for mom when she begins her next round of oral chemo. The duration is short: 5 days on and 25 off but the dosage is twice what she took during the first round. (I am not certain when this begins, but I will post an update when I have this info for you.)
- Prayer: a MRI will likely be scheduled within the next few weeks or so to see how effective the radiation and chemo have been. Please pray for mom and dad to receive a good report.
- I also have a request: If you have mom's cellphone number she would be so blessed to hear from you. Either a phone call or a text would be great! She really enjoys hearing from family and friends.
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