Stage 4

It's been a long time since the last post. A lot has happened.

In the fall of last year, things came to a screeching halt.

My mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. (She's alive so don't think that this is THAT post.)

My brother canceled his trip to L.A. for my kids' birthday.

My mom canceled her trip to L.A. for Halloween -- even though she really wanted to wear her terrifying horse costume.

My daughter and I rushed to my mom's house.  By the time we got off the plane, my mom herself had been rushed to the hospital for severe pain. She spent the rest of our trip there.

She's gone through chemo and radiation in an attempt to shrink the tumor clinging to her liver.  The plan kind of worked: it shrank, just not enough.

I'm back with her now as she goes into surgery for Plan B. If this takes, she'll probably be having surgeries for the next 14 months.  If it doesn't ... I don't want to think about it.

That's the thing about this blog. I love teasing my mom for her idiosyncrasies and weird choices, I love seeing those things manifest in my everyday decision making and parenting. But at the end of the day: She's my mom. She's the one I call every day on my way home from work.  She's the one I look to -- and look exactly like.

My biggest hope right now is that she gets well so I can get back to posting her crazy stories. I love her so much.