Email of the Day: I Get to Embrace All the Firsts...and Lasts

I called you several months ago, and you helped me with one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do, which was telling my husband that our four-year-old little girl has a terminal illness. It was one of the most painful, yet intimate, moments we’ve ever experienced, and I couldn’t have done it without your help.

At a recent specialist appointment with my daughter, I heard a mom say “No! Hurry up! I have to go back to work” to a two- or three-year-old boy as he got distracted by the set of trains in the waiting room. Then the mom looked at MY daughter and in the sweetest voice, said “Hi sweetie!” To be at that doctor’s office, her son most likely had a serious illness, yet she frantically yelled at him for being curious because she had to return to work, but then talked very kindly to MY child right in front of him. All I could think of was how lucky I am to have spent the past four years being a mom instead of treating it like a hobby or an errand. I get to embrace all the firsts, and yes, the lasts. In teaching me how important my presence is for my children’s growth and development, you unknowingly gave me the most precious memories to hold onto when I can’t hold her any more and wisdom to carry forward raising my son.

I don’t know how long I have with my sweet girl, but the time she has left will be the life she has always known – a life with mama there. And I have a marriage that is strong enough to hold us together even when our life feels like it’s falling apart. Thank you from the depths of my heart.

Gina

I Get to Embrace All the Firsts…and Lasts