Gone too soon…
Ovarian Cancer Awareness
Today would have been my mother’s 78th birthday. As I sit in my darkened room and write this, I realize all the wonderful things that have happened since her death seven years ago. My children were truly children then…now both have graduated high school and moved on to college. While one just completed her first year, the other is starting her first year of graduate school. Mama believed in great educations…she married in her senior year of high school and within days of graduating had gone with my dad after his draft to Fort Breckenridge. A brilliant woman who never got to attend college herself, she was an excellent role model for us, teaching us independence and strength, just two traits among many she valued.
I am glad she wasn’t here to see the agony of my older sister’s fight with lung cancer. My sister was a lover of life. Strong-willed and determined, she could have done anything…yet had a very soft heart and an incredible love of laughter. My sister was diagnosed a year after Mama died…and lived almost a year fighting her own disease. Just a little time passed and we lost our dad. Sometimes I think he lost part of his will to be here after losing his wife and daughter so quickly.
Mama never got to meet some of her great-grandchildren. And she will never get to see all her grandchildren as they marry and start their own lives. I hope these children will learn some of the values Mama passed on to us…her legacy is a strong one.
She’d be proud that I continue to write. Of all those who have known me from childhood to adulthood, she was one who encouraged my dreams of becoming an author. I know she’d had goals as a young woman that she put aside to raise her family…and she was determined that my sisters and I know that whatever our circumstance, we should never give up on our dreams.
She died of ovarian cancer. It is a silent killer which quite often isn’t easily noticed until too much time has passed. Know the symptoms, know the way your body feels normally and listen to those silent hints it gives you when you have an inkling something could be wrong. Ladies, it is better to find it early and have it treated than to find it too late. I won’t preach of what you should and shouldn’t do…but do learn about this disease. Suggestions are…
Check out http://www.ocrf.org/ or http://ovariancancer.com/app/index.php or http://www.gildasclub.org/.
She was my mother and she was my best friend. Happy Birthday Mama,
KW
This brought tears to my eyes. I lost my mother to cancer, too, and my youngest sister to an eating disorder six years apart, and it was so hard. You’ve lost your loved ones in an even shorter amount of time. My mother and youngest sister were the ones who encouraged me to keep writing and would be proud of my release last week if they were here to see it. Blessings, BJ
Thank you for such a sweet comment. Barbara, you know then how much the loss of loved ones can affect our lives and our outlook on our futures. My mother was convinced I’d be a wonderful author, and I am working hard to bring my work to publication. She would be so proud of my continued efforts! As with my mom, your mother and sister were encouraging to your writing…and are probably looking down at you from Heaven with pride. Congratulations on your release last week. I’ll have to check it out! KW
This brought tears to my eyes. I lost my mother to cancer, too, and my youngest sister to an eating disorder six years apart, and it was so hard. You’ve lost your loved ones in an even shorter amount of time. My mother and youngest sister were the ones who encouraged me to keep writing and would be proud of my release last week if they were here to see it. Blessings, BJ
Thank you for such a sweet comment. Barbara, you know then how much the loss of loved ones can affect our lives and our outlook on our futures. My mother was convinced I’d be a wonderful author, and I am working hard to bring my work to publication. She would be so proud of my continued efforts! As with my mom, your mother and sister were encouraging to your writing…and are probably looking down at you from Heaven with pride. Congratulations on your release last week. I’ll have to check it out! KW
Ah…
What to do with the desires that those passed away could still be here…
I still, after 27 years, wish my mom could witness some of the massive changes that have happened…
My mom was my best friend so we were very, very close! I believe she would be happy for me and for all the accomplishments of her family. I AM glad she didn’t have to suffer through seeing her oldest daughter and husband so very sick…but I can’t help but miss them all so much. Ours was a close family so a part of me will always miss what had been…but I carry so much of them in my heart and in the things our children have been taught…they will live on in the deeds of their descendants. KW
Ah…
What to do with the desires that those passed away could still be here…
I still, after 27 years, wish my mom could witness some of the massive changes that have happened…
My mom was my best friend so we were very, very close! I believe she would be happy for me and for all the accomplishments of her family. I AM glad she didn’t have to suffer through seeing her oldest daughter and husband so very sick…but I can’t help but miss them all so much. Ours was a close family so a part of me will always miss what had been…but I carry so much of them in my heart and in the things our children have been taught…they will live on in the deeds of their descendants. KW
Dear Karen, This is such a beautiful tribute to your mother and I like to believe that we all live on in spirit and she is with you still, seeing all the wonderful things that you and your family are doing. I bet she also feels the great love you have for her still.
All the best, Joyce
Joyce,
Thank you for the lovely comment. I truly believe we always are somehow connected…and I can actually still feel the love my mom and I had through the years…I can close my eyes and hear her laughter (and her advice at times!). She is just as vivid in my mind as the day I lost her…..and I see her in my daughters. I have read your site, http://makingsenseofitall.joycerothman.com/, and will continue to follow your story. You are in my prayers and thoughts. Bless you,
KW
Dear Karen, This is such a beautiful tribute to your mother and I like to believe that we all live on in spirit and she is with you still, seeing all the wonderful things that you and your family are doing. I bet she also feels the great love you have for her still.
All the best, Joyce
Joyce,
Thank you for the lovely comment. I truly believe we always are somehow connected…and I can actually still feel the love my mom and I had through the years…I can close my eyes and hear her laughter (and her advice at times!). She is just as vivid in my mind as the day I lost her…..and I see her in my daughters. I have read your site, http://makingsenseofitall.joycerothman.com/, and will continue to follow your story. You are in my prayers and thoughts. Bless you,
KW