Many of you have asked me how I’m staying so calm and positive in the face of a rapidly approaching surgery to remove the tumor that doctors are 99.9% certain is a rare form of cancer. The simple answer is, “I’m not, at least not entirely.” There are times I feel overwhelmed and stressed and can’t help thinking about the ‘what-ifs’ and times I worry desperately about my children’s futures. Those are the times that I gently ‘parent’ myself and I find my children gently ‘parenting’ me. When I’m lying awake, too stressed to sleep, I tell myself, “It’s okay to be scared and overwhelmed. Those feelings are normal,” and then I try to identify specifically what it is I’m stressed about at that moment and come up with at least one solution, one proactive thing I can do, to address the issue. Once I’ve identified the problem and come up with a solution, I can sleep more easily. When I’ve spoken with a bit less patience than I normally do to my littlest, she will first ‘check with me’ to see if I’m mad at her, “Do you mad a me, mama?” (“Are you mad at me, mama?”) and I’ll say, “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak so impatiently to you. I’m feeling a little stressed, but it’s not your fault.” Then she will climb into my lap, put her tiny hands on my face, look into my eyes, and say, “Wet’s bweef togedew, k?” (“Let’s breathe together, okay?”) Note: I dont get mad at this tiny little newcomer to our world, not ever, but shes in the stage of identifying emotions and often will ask about emotions as a part of her learning process. My little Funny Face (8) is gifted with a will of steel and a heart of gold. She’s clingy right now, having a bit of trouble sleeping, asking a lot of questions, and using the word ‘cancer’ frequently (causes a minor shock to run through me every time, but I’m getting used to it…I guess) because that’s how she processes things, chipping away at them and examining them and familiarizing herself with them. She is alternately acting out her own stress and worries (and we’re working together through those feelings and behaviors) and stepping up to help in any way she can. My sensory sweetie, Renaissance Girl (15), is like a lovely, sweet, emotional barometer. When I’m getting overwhelmed she will often simply feel it without me saying or doing anything, and she’ll quietly ask if I need her to take the smaller ones for a bit so I can have a break. She’s also been making dinner on a regular basis, which, as you’ll know if you’ve followed Little Hearts for any length of time, is a HUGE blessing for me. I haven’t set the kitchen on fire in over a month! My pre-med guy, Doc (now 20!), is that stalwart rock of a person that everyone needs to have in their lives. He’s preparing for his MCAT’s, working on his medical school application, taking classes to get certified as an EMT so he can work his way through med school, and is working his schedule around helping out with the girls and has arranged time off to go with us when we move temporarily to Jacksonville for my surgery and recovery. The girls are used to being with him at home, so this is greatly easing my mind about how theyll handle me being in the hospital for several days. My older children are checking in with me frequently to see what they can do to help, rearranging their work schedules to be available during and after my surgery, and pulling together to put in place a plan for my surgery, recovery, and possible treatments afterward. And, of course, my burly bear of a hubby is being his normal amazing self, offering to talk when he thinks I need to, asking what he can do to make all of this easier, taking the small ones for ice cream and to the park, and simply being the good, kind, and wonderful person that he is. So, no, I am not all zen about facing surgery and cancer. I am human. I am scared. I am overwhelmed at times. But, I’m using the gentle coping strategies that I normally employ with my children, and I’ve got my incredible family support system, and I have all of your wonderful and supportive thoughts and prayers to help me through. This I know, I cannot control all of the random happenings of life, but I can control my response to them. This is a hard thing, but not the hardest thing I’ve ever faced. I have survived in the past, and I will survive this…no, I will do more than just survive. I will not only live through cancer…I will continue to live and love and enjoy my life and my family and my work throughout this cancer journey. I think my new motto is going to be ‘I cancerVIVE’ because I can, and I will. (Vive is French for to live or live long and has the connotation of a zest for life, to be full of life, a life well lived) Heres a video from this time last year with me and my four youngest, just so you can put faces to names (well, nicknames )
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 12:41:33 +0000
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