Cheerios and Gratitude

This morning, as I was having breakfast with my twins, I was flooded with a "Wow - I'm still alive to experience these girls" moment of gratitude. I turned to Ellie and asked, "Why am I so lucky to have you two as my daughters?" Her response, without batting an eye, was, “Because God knew that you were going to have cancer.” She then continued eating her Cheerios and asked if I would read the Sunday comics with her.

The ease in which she answered that question astounded me. I realized, at that moment, that I had been battling cancer most of her life...certainly from as far back as she can remember. Living with cancer was simply part of my girls’ daily routine.

So many life lessons were thrust upon my children at such an early age. No child should have to see their mother in the hospital multiple times in a year. No child should have to see such fear in the eyes of those that they love. No child should have to witness what my children have witnessed.

But that is our life.

The girls learned early on how to be extraordinary. They learned about overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles and about the power of hope and faith. And now, even at their young age, they are strong, compassionate, resilient and so very very loving.

Right after breakfast I called my sister to recount what Ellie said. She reminded me that while I was pregnant, a friend wrote me a congratulatory email saying, “I’m so glad that you’re having girls, Eve, because you're going to raise two strong women.” I had no idea how strong they would have to be. But they have risen to the challenge and see themselves as a critical part of my healing. They encourage me to play when I want to work nonstop. They hide my Blackberry. They remind me to focus on the things that are important.

One of my original posts quoted the famous “Footsteps in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson. I was thinking about this poem today and realized that over the past 3 years, when life was at its most difficult, I was blessed with two tiny pairs of footprints in the sand.