Happy Mothers Day!!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there!  Whether you are a mother with endometriosis or a mother to someone with endometriosis, you deserve to be celebrated!  And if you are a mother with no relation to endometriosis at all, well Happy Mothers Day to you too, because we all have our tough times and mothers help us through them.
My mom has been my "person" throughout this whole process.  She was the first person to take me seriously and to care about what I was going through even when none of us knew what was going on.  I know it was so hard to see her daughter in a lot of pain and have doctors tell us they didn't know what to do to help, but she didn't ever let me see how tough it was for her.  When I could not be on my own because of the pain and all the medications and I needed help, she helped me move in with her and didn't think twice of letting me bring my kitty, Lily, even though she has cat allergies.  She didn't even talk to me about it.  Not once.  She knew Lily was my "security blanket" through everything and said "we will just figure it out."  She sat with me in the ER when it was a holiday or the middle of the night, she came with me to both my surgeries and was there each time I woke up, when I finally am able to do things that were too painful for me before or make strides in my recovery, she is my cheerleader.  She has seen the frustration throughout the process so she can understand my relief when things go well.  She has seen the toll that stress puts on my body and helps to relieve it if she can.   

I know that I needed unconditional support at the beginning of my endometriosis diagnosis because I didn't know what was going on with my own body.  Well, Mom never wavered.  She never told me I was imagining things.  She never thought I was over-reacting.  Without that, I might not be able to stand up for myself the way I need to now if I feel a problem or something changes or I can't do something on a particular day.
It's hard for her.  Our lives were both turned upside down but if my mother defines anything, it is without a doubt "unconditional love." 

Now Mom has cancer.  And her journey is her own and not mine to write about, but she still worries about me even when I can look at her and tell she feels horrible.  She is brave and amazing.  She may be losing her hair, but she has not lost any part of her that makes her such an amazing mother.  People have said that I must be "glad" to be able to be a support for her through her cancer.  That sounds odd to me because no part of me wants her to have cancer.  I don't want her to have anything.  I want my family alive with me forever!  In a way though, if she has to have cancer, I am "glad" I am here in the house with her.  She is just too special to have to go through anything this hard by herself.  I am still sick and this is hard on me, but I will do my best for her because she deserves at least that.

Happy Mothers Day to my wonderful Mom!!!

(And to all the other amazing mothers out there, there are too many to list and I wouldn't want to forget anyone but you are all in my heart today!)