There’s a reason I write most of these editor’s notes about my family, and that’s because my family is one of the single most important things in my life. While this has always been true, it became especially apparent when my mom was diagnosed with cancer.
I was in sixth grade when she received her diagnosis. Throughout the entirety of her battle with cancer, my mom refused to let it define her. She knew she was strong, she knew she was going through hell, but she also knew that she was more than a diagnosis. She continued to do the things that she had always done– traveling, going to work, falling asleep on the couch to Hallmark movies. Her attitude towards life and her strength as an individual have always been formidable, but they were especially such during that time.
As a kid, people would ask what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told them that I wanted to be a pediatric palliative care doctor because that’s my mom’s job. To be completely honest with you, however, I really just wanted to grow up to be my mom. I still do.
It is easy for me to describe my dad as my best friend and my little brother as my greatest pride. But it’s hard for me to explain my relationship with my mom in such simple phrasing. Everything that I have achieved in my life is because of my mom. She has been my biggest advocate, my strongest critic, and my most faithful supporter.
This year, my mom is five years cancer-free. 1,825 days, to be exact. In this time, I have grown to love her as more than just my mother. I’ve grown to understand that she is more to me than just my mother. She is my favorite person and always will be. So this one’s for you, momma. Congratulations.
