~As I grew older she and I became friends...
We spent several summers in Greece together when my dad was working overseas. We shared a love for the beach, swimming in the ocean and, more importantly, taking a cab into town for hot fudge sundaes. We laughed at the Greek men that always seemed to whistle at us and argued over who they were actually whistling at.
~It wasn't until after I had gotten married and suffered a miscarriage that I saw my mom as more than a mother and friend, but actually as another "woman"...
At a time when I felt as if no one understood my pain she, having suffered the same pain, found the perfect words to say to me. She comforted me like no one else could. Later, she shared with me tried and true techniques for child rearing after my first son Jake was born.
~I began to see many more sides of my mom...
I watched as she fought breast cancer. She was fighting the toughest battle of her life, yet she was always concerned about all of her children's lives. Always changing the subject when I'd call to ask her how *she* was feeling, to asking how *I* was. I know that I am the person I have become today because of the example of love and strength she showed me.
My son Ryan was born last August with Transposition of the Great Vessels, which is a major heart defect. At the time of his birth, my mom was going through a rough patch of her own with the cancer. I remember finding out that Ryan had a 50% chance of living through open-heart surgery and I just wanting to run to my mom and cry with her. I couldn't go to her, because she was too sick herself. It was at that moment that I realized I KNEW what my mom would say to me if I could tell her... It was her encouraging words I heard in my head offering me support like always. I could *feel* what she would have said to me, I knew that she would have cried with me, held me and told me God has a plan...
Eventually she became a regular visitor at the hospital. She would come into the ICU feeling awful from the chemotherapy and support ME. She was going through hell, yet she asked *me* how I was doing. She showed her true selflessness daily.
For months my family called Ryan and my mom "our two miracles". Never was there a truer statement. My mom was a living angel throughout her entire life and now I know that she will be a guardian angel to all of us, especially my Ryan and Jake. I owe every ounce of strength, love and compassion that I have to her. It is the example that she showed me just by being herself that has made me who I am today.
I love you mom.