I'd like to take some time to honor the moms in my life staring with my own. My mom is a true inspiration. She is one of the most hard-working, driven, generous, kind, and loving people. She has not been without hardship in her life, and she rose above it with such amazing strength, dignity and grace. Her hard work and perseverance, despite some significant blows when my brothers and I were very young, are a true inspiration. My mom is also one of the most generous people that I know...generous in so many ways. She would drop everything in a second if we ever needed anything. In a second. My mom is also a wonderful grandmother to Henry. He loves his Nana so much, and the feeling is absolutely mutual. She was one of the first people to see and hold him on the day he was born, and they remain so close. I love watching them together.
I could write about my mom for pages and pages, but there is one very important thing that I want to mention before moving on. My mom is in the ring with me during my current fight. A lot of people are in the ring with me, but she is right there. Had I not been in DC on Day 1, I think that she would have driven directly to Charleston. She was here for my first oncologist appointment, has done her own research on TNBC, and is at the ready for anything that we need. No one wants to see her child go through something like this, and I know that it is very hard for her to witness. She has been one of my main champions and supporters, and I am so very grateful. I love her very much.
I am also very fortunate to have a wonderful mother-in-law. I hesitate to even add the "in-law" to that because she really is like a mother to me. She is also incredibly kind, loving and generous. She has been a true confidant, supporter, and meaningful part of my life for nearly 10 years now. She's one of the first to offer a listening ear, lend a hand, or just be there for a chat. I couldn't talk to her for a few days after my diagnosis because I knew that I would melt into a puddle of tears hearing her voice. She is also an incredible grandmother to Henry, and I have enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. She is no stranger to raising boys as she has 3 of her own so I have often sought her advice over the past 4 years. I love her very much.
Many of my happiest memories involved my grandmothers. I grew up living near most of them so got to spend a lot of time with them growing up. I have 3 grandmothers, one passed away a few years ago, and the other two are well into their 80s. My Grandmother (dad's mother) was one of the most significant people in my life. She passed away when she was 88, and I miss her every single day. After my parents divorced when I was young, I spent almost every other weekend growing up at my Grandmother's house. She and I were very very close, and she helped me through some difficult times in my life. She was a wonderful listener, very loving, and one of my biggest fans. She was also a Great Grandmother to 3, and one of her great granddaughters shares her birthday. Very special.
My Nena (mom's mother) is also part of some of my happiest memories growing up. She spent so much time with me when I was little, and I loved every minute of it. She taught me how to sew and cook/bake, and taught me all about nature. She and I would go for nature walks through the woods behind her house, and she would point out every little leaf and flower that we saw. We would also do the same on the beach. I can still name most of the little things that we see washed up on the beach because of her. We visit Nena every time we are in town, and Henry loves going to see her. It is very sweet to see the two of them together. Though Nena has had many struggles in recent years, I am flooded with happy memories of my childhood each time I see her.
Not many people can say that they have 3 grandmothers, but I am lucky to say that I do. My Grandma (Glen's mother) has been part of my life for over 25 years now. She is a very sweet and kind woman who spent a lot of time with my brothers and me as we were growing up. We spent weekends at their house, went on a few road trips, and they visited us often. In recent months, Grandma has called me regularly to check in to see how I am doing, and she's got the Southern Baptists of Aiken, SC praying hard for me. It is a great feeling.
And finally, me. I received the title of "mom" almost 4 years ago when my sweet little Henry came roaring into the world. He was almost 2 weeks overdue, and I am convinced that he would have stayed put for much longer had the doctors allowed. I will never forget holding his tiny body in my arms for the first time just before 10:30pm that night...it was well worth the wait. I slept with him snuggled up on my chest for most of that night because I just did not want to let go of him. I think that I would still sleep like that if he allowed it. I have so many treasured moments spent with that little boy, and they appear sometimes when I least expect them. He'll lean over to give me a kiss, will randomly tell me that he loves me, and is drawn to me like a magnet whenever I sit down on the couch. He's instantly by my side. I've said it before and will say it again, being Henry's mom is the greatest thing that I have ever done and will ever do. I treasure the bond that we have, and I have never known the love that I do now as a mother.
I had a wonderful day celebrating the moms in my life and being a mom. I slept in late, had a lazy morning, took Henry out to play for a little while, and we all went out for an early dinner. We decided to forego brunch and decided to go out to dinner instead. We went out for mediterranean food which is among my favorite. When we lived in the DC area, we often ate at a place called Lebanese Taverna (which has more Middle Eastern than mediterranean food). We've tried to find something comparable in SC and have been very unsuccessful, but we'll take "comparable but not quite as good" as long as it includes really good hummus and some kind of shawarma.
I posted this on Facebook so sorry for the overlap for anyone, but I was very excited to see a brief feature on TNBC during The Players Championship coverage that Mike was watching. The tournament financially supports breast cancer research and briefly discussed the TNBC vaccine that the Mayo Clinic is developing. They even interviewed Dr. Edith Perez, one of the leading TNBC doctors in the country. I was so excited to see this for several reasons - 1. the vaccine trial is getting vital funding, 2. TNBC is not widely known so it is good to expose it to a larger audience, and 3. it is very nice to see a mainstream sporting event making a financial contribution to RESEARCH.
Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms out there. I could go on and on about all of the amazing mothers that I have the privilege of knowing, but this post would take years to write.
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