Her cancer came back after nine years of remission.
It was sudden and terrifying and full of uncertainty.
And darkness.
But on an island that practically trademarked sunlight and sparkling water, it’s impossible not to look for hope.
Hope is something I do well. And of course my talent for dissociation doesn’t hurt…but I’d like to think that hope is the dominant of the two.
Pretty much everything we did that week involved entertaining Oliver, and what could be better inspiration for hope than a child?
From pushing my father into the pool (thanks Dad – great idea for a game!) to walking up and down the docks looking at fish (luckily the Push Grandpa in the Pool game didn’t seem to translate), Oliver kept everything light. We lived in the moment and were thankful for the distraction.
By far, Oliver’s favorite activity was visiting the Key West Butterfly Conservatory. It felt like we went every day, and I didn’t mind a bit. There is nothing more uplifting than walking into a room filled with fluttering butterflies.
It’s very hard to capture pictures of butterflies, especially when they are in motion, so this picture my father took seemed like a mini miracle.
As did my mother’s recovery. Something that wouldn’t have been possible a year or two prior.
Hope isn’t always easy to capture – but maybe it’s not meant to be held too terribly close. Letting it surround us without trying so hard worked best for my family.
Our hope didn’t just float – it also had roots. Ones that grow stronger every day. My hope now constant, and it’s both solid and lighter than air.
This post is part of 7 Clown Circus’ Wordful Wednesday. Angie is another founder of Moxie Media and organizer of Around the Blogosphere in 5 Days.
That was quite a gift… to offer up hope and fun and lightness when faced with fear. Good job!
What a superb picture, and a beautiful story to go with it. I'm so glad your mom is OK!
that was quite lovely………
I don't even have any words other than 'that was beautiful.'.
That really was beautiful. A picture of hope that I needed to see. Thank you, lady.
Great picture and great post, Kate.
What a great photo to go with a fantastic post. Really lovely Kate. I wish your mom many years of kicking cancer's @ss.
I'm so glad your mom is doing better. That was such a gorgeous photo – perfect for such a heartwarming post!
Hope isn't always easy to capture – but maybe it's not meant to be held too terribly close. Letting it surround us without trying so hard worked best for my family.
What beautiful words to live by.
i´m so glad your mom is better… beautiful post. hugs-jane
Children do provide hope and distract us from our trials. Pets do that sometimes too. I'm so glad for both of the mini miracles.
Beautiful all around! It is amazing how much kids can help by simply being kids. When my mom was going through breast cancer treatments we'd visit often (luckily she's pretty close) and my at-the-time toddler son who NEVER sat still for more than a few minutes would sit on her lap or with her on the bed and be so content to play little games with her. It was amazing and, we believe, was some of the most important medicine for her. Luckily she had a great recovery.
Beautiful. I'm with you on hope. I look at having hope as my thing. Hope carries you through a hell of a lot. I'm glad it's kept you afloat.
Oh, and gorgeous photo. :)
So glad that your Mom recovered!
I don't think I've ever seen a butterfly that color before. Beautiful!
So lovely – it made me tear up. I'm so glad your mom is doing better!!!
That was a beautiful post. Thank you so much for sharing in such a special way. By the way I just love the pic of your son with the butterfly!!!