Siblings -- Angels on earth

I wish I could add up the miles traveled, the expense occurred, the time spent, and the comfort given on behalf of my mother by her siblings.

But I am pretty sure it is mathematically approaching infinity.

All I want to do is be by my mother's side, holding her hand, getting her food, rubbing her feet, and helping in any way imaginable but I just simply can't. I have five children to tend to, a home to take care of, a husband to be with, and all the other busy responsibilities of a woman in my situation. Additionally, my home and my mother's home are just a "few" miles apart.

And yet . . . someone has always been there to do what I would do. (and they might even do it better than me!)

 My mom's sisters.

It sure helps that there are 5 of them.

From the day of her first surgery- Sept 1st- all the way through today-- one of them has been there for her. There were a few good days when being there was not "geographic" but those days have been pretty rare. And it was such a blessing to her. And it was such a blessing to me. I have taken 4 trips to Houston to see my mom since September and I loved every minute with her, but I also knew that I had to balance being with my mom -- and doing what I know my mom would want me to do first -- be there for my children just like she always was there for us. The only thing that made it easy for me to leave and tend to my little family was the presence of her angel sisters -- so that I knew she would be loved and cared for like no other.

I don't have words enough to express my gratitude for the sacrifice you each have made -- but just know that it has not gone unnoticed. I wish I could give you each the recognition and thanks for each little act of service you have offered -- but I can't -- I don't know them all, and no one except maybe you and my mom will ever know them all - but just know they were all appreciated.

End of the coaching season

I love coaching.  I have loved it since I was a 14 year old girl helping out the cute little 6 and unders at my neighborhood swim team.  I loved it when I became the head coach of the neighborhood swim team.  I loved it when I taught school and got to coach volleyball, basketball, and track & field.  And this year, I loved it as I got to coach my own daughter in 2 sports -- soccer and softball.  I hope this is just the beginning of years and years of coaching again!  For my softball team I made this cute little video!

Nana -- super "MOM" substitute

Now the thing that made my trip back to Houston so easily managed was my Mother-in-law -- who flew in at literally a moment's notice! ( -- seriously less than 24 hours after calling-- she was here).

 Leaving four of my kids, my husband, my carpooling turns, my cooking needs, my coaching volunteer jobs, and my laundry duties was a piece of cake. She did it all -- the cooking, more cleaning than I would do, the laundry (all of it including changing all the sheets, the playing with kids, the endless energy of Adam, the homework, one science fair project, and MORE!!!!

 I couldn't have returned home to it any better! It was so nice that she came in before me and left after me so that Owen and I had a chance to spend time with her too (and take photos)!

So thank you Nana, thanks for the love and the support, thanks for filling in as the MOM around here, and thanks for being the best "second" mom a girl could have.




 






She even let me take her picture before she got her hair all fixed before Trent left for work.

and before the girls left for school
and before Julianne left -- so we could see that at age 10 and 353 days -- Julianne is not quite taller than Nana -- despite her foot being 3 1/2 sizes larger than Nana's!

Leaving

Time --

For such a perfectly quantifiable thing, it sure can pass at a variety of speeds.

I arrived in Houston on Wednesday and before I could blink an eye, it was 4 am on Tuesday morning and I had to be off to the airport. To say that it flew by would be an understatement.

Why when all I want in the whole world is for time to slow down-- why does it seem to go so fast?

 I loved each moment with my mom and my family. I helped with chores, cleaned the pool, shopped for father's day, shopped for Hailey's baptism, made meals, blended lots of food, sat by my mom, laid on my mom's bed by her, helped her blog, taught her ipad lessons, organized things for her, printed and bound family directories, played nines, played rook, and occasionally cried.

The reality is that even with terminal cancer, my mom wakes up each day with a plan and far be it for any little cells to get in the way of accomplishing what she wants to do. Her daily plans now and every day in the past primarlily involve helping and serving others and it is a lesson that all of us can learn -- that it must take a lot to weary in good works.

Leaving wasn't so hard -- because I know I am coming back in 2 weeks. I just hope she can battle until I get back and this time with all of my kids and my husband so that we can all learn just a little more about love and service.

Owen - teeth and aunts

While traveling to Houston I discovered that Owen had 2 teeth. He has probably had them for a week or so based on their size, but they were not the central lower incisors (like most babies get). Nor were they the central upper incisors. . . they are the lateral upper incisors. He looks like a vampire baby when you push his upper lip out of the way. He likes to feel them with his thumb.

 Owen gots lots of love on our trip -- especiallly from his great aunts. Tami and Tobi sure enjoyed his sweet personality (as long as he had visual contact with his mommy).

Rook

My family plays games. Lots and lots of games. There are games for inside, games for outside, made up games, and lots of games with house rules. But if there is a game that trumps all other games . . . it is ROOK (with Bingham family rules). I remember watching all the aunts and uncles play at family reunions and seriously studying their methods and strategies so that one day I could play with them.

 It is the combination of teamwork, luck, skill, smarts, and fun that makes rook such a good time. Even if you lose the bid, you always have a reasonable chance to set the other team. And even with the hand in the bag -- there is still a chance that you might lose it all.

There is nothing like the unexpected last trick-- when you play your last card and are slightly unsure if it is good, you don't know if your opponent or your partner will be able to cover you and you don't know who has what counters left. It is all quiet and then . . . the groans of defeat and the squeals of surprise victory.

Games are a lot like life. You can play and play and think you have an idea how the score will turn out, but just like rook, that last hand can really come in and trip you up. My mom's battle with cancer has played out like a rook game. She took the bid, and called Red trump. She started out with the 14 and has been playing out her trump. It turned out that the doctors and the chemo didn't have any trump in their hands and so we have watched the battle between my mom and cancer. We are counting out the trump and are down to the last hand, and my mom has played her last card -- it is a 14 yellow -- a high card for sure but it is not trump and we have all counted and we know that there is one more trump out there. I sure wish that a red 5 couldn't beat a 14 yellow. But that is just not how the game is played.

Old Friends

On Thursday morning, I was lucky enough to be with my mom when one of her dear friends came to visit her. She had flown down from Dallas for just a few hours to see my Mom. It was such a special reunion. Though Shellie and her family had only lived in Houston for 2 years, 22 years ago our families had been very close and had done so many things together. It was so fun to hear how all of her children and grandchildren were doing. And it was so fun to see how good friendships manage to bridge the distances of both time and space. I learned a valuable lesson about keeping up with friends and being there for them when it really counts. Shellie had given my mom the saying on the glass oval years and years ago and it has meant so much to her. Today she brought with her another beautiful saying that means so much to all of us right now.