Today is the first day of October- breast cancer awareness month. So this post is dedicated to my momma. She's a survivor :] This pic was taken April 2008, when my sisters and I joined her for a shave party (that's me in the glasses). We video taped the whole ordeal and laughed hysterically at each other. None of us looked super amazing bald, but collectively we were beautiful. For anyone who hasn't gone through something like this with a woman they love, I am overjoyed for you. If you have, then you know how precious such memories can be. I still remember exactly where I was standing when my mom gave me the news... leaning on my sister's kitchen island. I remember the look on her face when she returned from hearing the biopsy results, the look that spoke to me before her words did. I remember the way she seemed so unshaken and confident... so strong. Stage 3 triple negative breast cancer, undetected for years on her mammogram. Wow. I remember the first person I called, and how the reality of it hit me only as I was hearing the words come out of my mouth. I remember choking on them and crying. Immediately my sisters and I discussed shaving our heads when mom lost her hair. She was adamant that we didn't have to. I remember it like it was yesterday, a couple weeks into chemo she called me from work, her hair was falling out. My heart broke for her and I quickly responded- time to schedule a shave party. Probably one of the most fun nights of my life, we all took turns in her tiny bathroom, shaving and being shaved. We took before and after pictures, texted pics to our husbands, even went to wal-mart for fabric scraps to make wraps for our bare heads. Then we ventured to our favorite resturaunt- 4 baldies! It was a night I'll never forget. Sometimes the smallest things resonate the longest. Mom spent the next day emailing everyone photos of her girls, bragging on what great daughters she has. It was my Uncle that first told her that it spoke more for how great she is. How true :] My mom was given the all clear- thanks Jesus! And after many months of awful in between dos and growing out insanity, my hair is shoulder-length again. If I had it to do over again, would I? Of course I would! She's my momma, the most amazing, ridiculously strong, super-womanish mom in the universe. And it's only hair, y'all.
This was the sweetest thing. I would do this for my Mom also. Moms are something special and cannot be replaced. I am glad that she is doing good. I am sure she is strong and doing well because of her girls. Thanks for sharing this. So special.
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I was 16. She started losing her hair within the next year, and I truly did regret that I never offered to shave my head. I attribute it to youth, but I still wish I'd had the foresight to do it-- it's only hair. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through you and your sisters!
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Hi Bekah, this is Carin from Margaret's Hope Chest, just wanted to answer your question. We will be collecting quilts through the middle of November-I hope that gives you enough time to help us out!
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