From an article originally posted September 11, 2012…
I am just beginning to surface from my second chemo treatment. I have found a bottom that I didn’t know existed. I typically can muscle through, tough it out, but I can’t shake the discouragement that this treatment brought on tonight. As for care, I have the best. The love of my husband and Susan Jett has carried me, but the me that is being carried is so discouraged, so sick, so weary.
I have made so many wonderful new friends through Kara, many since her Homecoming. Everyone has a beautiful story, and I wish I could respond to all of the emails and letters that come my way; it’s a blessing to read about your journeys and how Kara impacted you! Kara loved big and attracted others who loved big.
One of my new friends is Cindy. Cindy knows how to love big. Actually, if you’ve been following Mundane Faithfulness for any amount of time, you are already familiar with Cindy or at least her blanket—she sent Kara’s gray and white Big Love blanket, which was one of her favorite comfort items. It seemed to be with her all the time, even going with her to the hospital the few times she was admitted. It’s been captured in many photos.
From an article originally posted September 1, 2012…
Kids are so honest. So honest. Yesterday was a big day. My first day in public sporting my new Sinead look, wig shopping, and the first time I was asked by my kids if I was going to die.
When I walked in from wig shopping, my sweet second-born asked me if I was going to die. I looked at her and said, Yes. Then I invited her upstairs with me as I put on my comfy clothes. Big conversations require an elastic waist.
When Kara and I were first married, I was very independent. I was 5 years older than she and had more time to create who I was; simply, I was selfish. Early on in our marriage I had a really hard time using the “we” and not the “I”. This led to a lot of arguments. It seemed to take years of conscious effort on my part to live life in the plural. But I did it. I became a “we” and an “us,” and that shaped how I made decisions, how I spoke, and what I did on the weekends. This became a natural and joyful part of my life, to continually include the feelings and opinions of another in all decisions.
From an article originally posted August 29, 2012…
No amount of preparation can prepare a person for losing their hair suddenly one afternoon in their backyard. As Story Jane and I sat in the back yard pulling handful after handful of my hair out, I thought of Sarah, Plain and Tall giving the hair from a haircut to the fields for the birds to build nests. I would love to see nests of platinum blonde hair. Actually, I wouldn’t. I would rather keep my hair. Story Jane asked if she would be losing her hair, since we have matching white hair. I assured her she would not. That my medicine made mine come out.
