This month marks three years since my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. It still seems so ironic that she got the life altering news during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
She pinned something the other day on Pinterest that said: October is breast cancer awareness day but for a survivor it’s every single day.
It’s true. Pink ribbons are common year round at my mom’s house.
I still remember the night my mom told me the news. My emotions raged like a hurricane. I was sad, angry, scared.
On one hand I was mad at her because I was the last to know (she wanted to tell me in person) and because she shared the news in a nonchalant way as she sat in the recliner like she was discussing the weather. (Looking back how else do you tell your daughter you have cancer? There’s really no way of sugar coating it.)
There in my parent’s living room, I learned my mom had breast cancer. It was exactly two months before she was going to become a grandma.
That night I laid in bed in the room I grew up in, hot tears streaming down my face, and scared to death. I couldn’t become a mother if I didn’t have my own.
The next few months consisted of my mom’s surgery, a baby shower, my sister’s wedding, the birth of my son, and treatment plans.
My mom traveled four hours to attend my baby shower two weeks after having a double mastectomy.
She stayed up throughout the night rocking and consoling her colicky grandson when she was weak to the bone from chemotherapy.
Seven months after she delivered that devastating news, she walked the survivor lap at Relay for Life in my hometown.
Jackson wore a special shirt that said I walk for Lolli.
Now here we are three years later and my mom is cancer free. It’s something we celebrate and thank God for every. single. day.
I don’t think it was a coincidence that her diagnosis and Jackson’s birth coincided.
Because God’s glory was proclaimed in an 8 pound 13 once little boy. He captured Lolli’s heart and brought hope on the hard days.
God knew our family would need this baby boy to get us through one of the hardest things we’d ever faced.
And from the moment Jackson let out his first cry, until now, the bond between him and his Lolli has been undeniable.