Feeling Better

I wrote last week about Adrienne fighting a cough. She saw her oncologist for a regular visit last Friday after some headaches and vertigo the previous days. The doctor prescribed antibiotics to prevent bronchitis or a sinus infection, a relatively common occurence with a cold for her. The doctor also mentioned that he couldn't rule out Hodgkin's Diseaes in the brain. Huh? When Adrienne called to tell me, I wasn't even sure what to say but she was fine with this news. Since then, she hasn't had any more headaches or vertigo so there appears to be nothing worry about.

Adrienne sees the cardiologist on Friday and we hope to change her medications so she feels better. She takes a nap almost every afternoon and she doesn't like feeling tired all the time. He is out of town until Friday so we won't be able to talk until then.

Otherwise, things are going well. Adrienne is doing well in school and in her job, and is busy planning for next semester (already). She is definitely somebody who likes to have a plan.

The Chosen Mothers

Most women become a mother by accident, some by choice and a few by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with life threatening illnesses are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over earth selecting, His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and says, “Give her a child with illness” the angel is curious, “Why this one, God? She’s so happy.”

“Exactly,” smiles God, “Could I give a child with disease a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel”

“But, does she have patience?” asks the angel.

“I don’t want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it.”

“I watched her today,” said God, “She has that feeling of self- independence that is so rare and necessary in a mother. You see, the child I’m going to give her has its own world. She has to make it live in her world and that’s not going to be easy.”

“But Lord, I don’t think she believes in you” said the angel.

“No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness”
The angel gasps, “Selfishness? Is that a virtue?”

God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she’ll never survive. Yes, here is the woman I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a single step ordinary. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see…. ignorance, cruelty, prejudice…. And allow her to rise about them.”

“And what about her patron saint” asks the angel, his pen poised in mid-air. God smile and say’s … “A mirror will suffice”