Adolescence

O.K. so, Shayla is 'done with cancer', but it has really screwed up her life! Well, at least that is the bubble she is in right now. Nine months have gone by, not so quietly I add, since Shayla's diagnosis, treatment and cure. NINE MONTHS! That's how long I carried her as a babe in my womb before she made her (3 week early) grand entrance into mortality. Although we welcome this new start to her life--cancer free--as eagerly as we did when she was a 5 pound sack of sugar, there are more bumps and hairpin turns we are finding we need to navigate and maneuver together.

Remember being an adolescent? Remember friends, school, lifelong dreams, ambitions? Shayla has seen many of those things change, but not all. The hardest part, I think, has been with friends. Their lives went on for the time Shayla was in treatment, but hers came to a screeching halt while we battled the cancer. I am sure it feels like her friends are eons ahead of her in life experiences. She feels so alone. She is bound to look back on this time eventually and see a myriad of colors added to her life because of what Heavenly Father brought her through, but right now the only color she sees is black--empty, nothing.

I know, it is 'normal' for teens to feel this way even without serious illness. I pray we can find the answers to help her see the colors in her life. Maybe red (you know, the hair thing), the blues, the bright, warm yellows, the earthy browns, the greens of new life. I think I remember something from a science class many moons ago about the color black. Isn't it black because it has ALL the colors in it? (okay, so I just checked it out, black absorbs all light. I know there is a good analogy here, but I will save that for later). Anyway, as a Mom, it is sure hard to help her see beyond the struggles of everyday teen life.

Christmas Reflection...
Since I hadn't posted for quite some time I will say that Christmas 2008 was a wonderful time to celebrate! It is the first year I can truly say I was sad that school resumed for the kids so quickly! We had so many gifts Heaven-sent that it was easy to be grateful. We asked Santa not to leave us toys this year and you know what, he listened! And even more surprising, no one was disappointed!

We are far from perfect here in the French household. We still deal with the spats and bickering of family, but we have decided to try to change that. I'll keep you posted on that one.