There. I said it. I've had this blog title picked out for weeks and didn't know if I had the guts to actually post all my feelings about what is going on.
I have not documented the battle our family is waging, which I should, however when emotions are just so close to the surface and the mere thought of what is transpiring right now is enough to make me crumble I tend to keep this stuff to myself.
You see, I have a mother-in-law like no other. Marlene is just the most beautiful human being that I have ever met and I feel beyond lucky that EVERYDAY I am related to her. She is...Compassionate. Selfless. Loving. Beautiful. Patient. Serving. And almost 4 years ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. To say that this was not fair is the biggest understatement of all time. At the time we knew this was the beginning of the end, but when you have a woman who refuses to go down without a fight you get someone who beats ALL the odds and statistics. Fast-forward to about 2 months ago when everything was seemingly great, perfect, and close to a clean-bill-of-health you can get we get a diagnosis that shook us to our very core. The cancer has spread. This time to her brain to which there is no aggressive treatment. No leading chemo medicine. No last ditch options. This is it. One round of radiation and at the most we have 1 year, 6 months of which will be her most healthiest until the cancer fully takes over.
I can't ask why anymore. I can't think about what life will be like without her. I can't imagine my husband not being able to call her to tell her about his day at work. I can't even believe my kids will never truly know this great woman; only to hear stories about her like some mythical creature that once existed. I just can't go there. But, what I can do is try to make the most of what we do have, and that is just a few more moments with her.
A few weeks ago I had a dear friend, who I met through our mutual love for photography, come and do a quick photo session for me with Marlene, my sisters-in-law and Scott. Since I feel like I'm the walking advocate for documenting your life with pictures and photographing the moments I knew this was about the only thing I could truly GIVE to them. It was such an amazing experience to watch all the siblings snuggle up to their mom to get their picture taken. I will treasure that time for as a long as I live.
I "stole" a few of the photos off my friends photo blog, but I want you to go and visit her site to not only view the rest of the images but to read some of the wonderful words she wrote and poetry she posted alongside the images. Absolutely eloquent.
Go HERE to view the rest.
I have not documented the battle our family is waging, which I should, however when emotions are just so close to the surface and the mere thought of what is transpiring right now is enough to make me crumble I tend to keep this stuff to myself.
You see, I have a mother-in-law like no other. Marlene is just the most beautiful human being that I have ever met and I feel beyond lucky that EVERYDAY I am related to her. She is...Compassionate. Selfless. Loving. Beautiful. Patient. Serving. And almost 4 years ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. To say that this was not fair is the biggest understatement of all time. At the time we knew this was the beginning of the end, but when you have a woman who refuses to go down without a fight you get someone who beats ALL the odds and statistics. Fast-forward to about 2 months ago when everything was seemingly great, perfect, and close to a clean-bill-of-health you can get we get a diagnosis that shook us to our very core. The cancer has spread. This time to her brain to which there is no aggressive treatment. No leading chemo medicine. No last ditch options. This is it. One round of radiation and at the most we have 1 year, 6 months of which will be her most healthiest until the cancer fully takes over.
I can't ask why anymore. I can't think about what life will be like without her. I can't imagine my husband not being able to call her to tell her about his day at work. I can't even believe my kids will never truly know this great woman; only to hear stories about her like some mythical creature that once existed. I just can't go there. But, what I can do is try to make the most of what we do have, and that is just a few more moments with her.
A few weeks ago I had a dear friend, who I met through our mutual love for photography, come and do a quick photo session for me with Marlene, my sisters-in-law and Scott. Since I feel like I'm the walking advocate for documenting your life with pictures and photographing the moments I knew this was about the only thing I could truly GIVE to them. It was such an amazing experience to watch all the siblings snuggle up to their mom to get their picture taken. I will treasure that time for as a long as I live.
I "stole" a few of the photos off my friends photo blog, but I want you to go and visit her site to not only view the rest of the images but to read some of the wonderful words she wrote and poetry she posted alongside the images. Absolutely eloquent.
Go HERE to view the rest.