thank you

How do you thank someone for giving you more time with your wife? How about your mom? The simple answer is you can’t.  But I saw something the other day that really got me thinking.

 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition  has been a family favorite for several years now.  We watch together typically on Sundays, and all bask in the warm fuzzy feelings you get from watching people have their lives changed (even if it can be a little cheesy at times).  One episode in particular really touched me. 

A family with three children: twins age five, and a two-year old, were given tragic news.  Colon cancer. Their mother was going to die; it was just a matter of how long and the quality of life she had during it.  The mom was a school teacher, she taught third grade.  The father was constantly worried about his wife’s detriiating health, mounting medical bills, and that dreaded thought in the back of his mind-what happens when I become a single dad?  His wife’s strength through this all is beyond impressive.  She would go from the worst days, stuck in the bathroom vomiting constantly, to going to work-and hoping to leave a lasting impression among both her kids at school and her own children at home. 

Anyone who is familiar with the show knows that Ty Pennington and crew comes in and builds the family a new home in a week while the family goes on vacation.  That in and of itself is impressive, but on this particular episode CVS also donated $100,000 for her medical bills. 

The expressions on the parents faces were indescribable. The dad would no longer have to spend time up at night worrying about how they would pay for his wife’s medicines.  The little twin girls would get to build more memories with their mother-being soothed after skinning their knees, and lots of hugs to go around. 

There is no cure for cancer, and I guess maybe this post is a little cheesy, but their story touched me.  The mother’s choice of strength over fear.  Choosing how she would live her final days instead of worrying about what would happen after she was gone.  Making memories with her children.  It was inspiring.  The look of relief on her face when given that news was truly remarkable.