When my kids were really small, I used to dream about spending a night alone in a hotel. With a big bed all to myself, in which I could sleep for as long as I wanted. Nothing sounded as appealing or …
When Mom Is Sick…
It should have been a mother's dream. As I lay in my bed with a book, I could hear my husband starting dinner preparations and marshaling the kids into peeling shrimp, chopping vegetables, and setting …
Where You Find Yourself
In December 2019, I was talking with my spiritual director about the following fall. For the first time in almost 14 years, I would have no children at home. I thought I was excited about all the time …
What You Do After Cancer
I drive to the medical center trying my best to distract myself with a podcast I’d saved just for the occasion, but once I check in and sit down it’s no longer possible to forget that it’s time for my …
Cancer-Free: A Resolution of Gratitude
On December 28 I went to the cancer center for my yearly mammogram. Because my initial surgery to remove my breast cancer was in December, this anxiety-producing ritual now falls at the end of each …
The Three Lessons of Losing
We just returned home from a weekend soccer tournament. Three games and no wins—one tie and two losses. The second game was a bad loss, one where none of us were quite sure what the final …
On Having a New Baby and Breast Cancer
I was explaining to someone a few months ago that I was in chemotherapy and she looked in confusion at my five-month-old in the stroller right next to us. “But you have a baby!” I know, I …
What I’ve Learned from My Cancer Diagnosis
I was 39 weeks pregnant when I was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. I’m not sure what (or who) exactly caused me to ask my nurse-practitioner to do a breast …
