Last weekend, Dave and I attended the Spring
Family Cancer Retreat sponsored by
Cancer Services of New Mexico. It was an incredibly worthwhile time. In addition to learning lots of new things, we had the chance to really go back and remember and evaluate things, and to feel afresh the wonder of God's care for us over so many years of fighting cancer.
In particular, we revisited, sometimes for the first time in years, some precious memories together. In our busy lives, it seems we must have a special occasion to sit still long enough to do that! One such memory caused me to find this photo:
One of the speakers we heard at the retreat was singing the praises of his care-givers, and told the sweet story of his father growing a mustache when his fell out, and not shaving it until the patient could grow one back. That reminded us of what Dave calls the "fuzzy" period: he never quite lost all his hair, but lost most of it, and as it grew back in, it was all cut short. During that time I was on the way to the barber shop with the boys to get their hair cut, and Ben, then about 8 years old, said, "Hey-- if we get our hair cut short, in a buzz, like Dad's, then people won't know Dad has cancer. They will just think that we cut our hair that way in our family." I was so moved by the thoughtfulness and sensitivity of this little boy that I could hardly tell the barber the plan without crying! And that evening, when Dave returned home from work, they all matched. It was a wonderful moment of caring and embracing the "now" of that moment. It was a moment of hearts overflowing.
Many such memories are strong with me right now, so you might be reading lots of cancer stories for a while. Bear with me patiently, Gentle Reader. My heart is simply overflowing.
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