Mom turned 60 today. You would never know it. Her smile that lights up a room and her youthful enthusiasm and spirit makes her pass for someone much younger. I’m quite sure that when she’s out with Dad in public, people that don’t know them think she’s out and about with her Father!
60 is really a milestone for her. When I was a baby she was in Barnes Hospital in St. Louis for several weeks receiving radiation to fight Hodgkin’s Disease. She was only 23 years old. She won. She and Dad tried to have more kids, but instead she experienced three miscarriages, including a tubal pregnancy that nearly took her life. After I entered grade school, she went back to college, earned her teacher’s degree, and started teaching.
When she was 37 and I was a Freshman in high school, she had to faced her previous foe again. This time it was six months of chemotherapy. She won again.
For 23 years since she has remained cancer-free and for that we are extremely grateful. But after the second bout with cancer, she physically wasn’t the same. She fatigued easier and her immune system was weaker. The chemo, combined with the damage from the radiation 14 years prior, had taken a toll on her petite body. She has faced many other physical challenges that are part of the residual effects of what she’s been through. In fact, we had a real scare just last Christmas when she was hospitalized with septic shock.
Through it all, she’s been a real trooper: an incredible model of faith, and a woman of prayer. If you would have told me 20 years ago that Mom would be healthy and still teaching at 60 years old, I would have had a hard time believing you. She is indeed still teaching, but only for another month, when she will get to retire.
Yes, 60 is a milestone. I can remember as a 14 year-old hearing that Mom probably wouldn’t live to see my graduation from high school (at the beginning of her second battle with cancer). It crushed me. I begged God to let her live to see me graduate. God has done exceedingly abundantly more than I ever asked or imagined (Eph. 3.20). Not only was she at my high school graduation, but she was at 3 more: bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate! She has lived to see me marry, and has gotten to know all four of our kids. And they love their Nonna!
Yes, God answered the prayer of a hurting young teenager when I asked him to heal my Mom. He’s given me 23 more wonderful years with Mom. And would it surprise you to learn that I’m just bold enough to ask Him for at least 23 more?
Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you. You’re my hero.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
