How do you tell them?

How do you tell your kids that their Mamma has cancer? Yeah, I wasn't too sure either. But, leave it up to my mom to do the talking. She was great.

The kids know a little bit about mom having had cancer before they were born. They have seen pictures of her without hair. That's about all they really know about her being sick. I wasn't quite sure how they would take it since we haven't had anyone else in our family who has had cancer.

A was the first one to understand what Mom was saying...

A: So your cancer is back?
Mom: Yup.
A: I don't want your cancer to be back.
Mom: Either do I.
A: Will you loose your hair?
Mom: Maybe.
A: What else will happen?
Mom: They'll give me special medicine to help make me better. And I'll need lots of hugs to make me feel better.
*cue the hugs*

Through all of this, C didn't say much. That's kind of what I figured from him. He was more concerned about playing games on Mamma's phone, since that's what Mammas let you do, you know. Mom told A there was a book and she wanted me to read it to her right away. I think it helped a little bit, walking through the emotions we all might feel, how Mom might look different, etc. All of the appearance and how she feels stuff is yet to be seen. All I know is that her belly hurts-different from before-when nothing hurt at all.

The kids will definitely be a bright spot through all of this. They'll bring Mom back to a good place. On her down days, seeing them will bring a smile to her face. On her good days, they'll help make things even better (since gooder isn't a word).

A wanted to see Mamma's wigs from before. Mom already said she's not wearing any if she looses her hair. Good for her! I remember how hot and uncomfortable they were for her. A tried them on the head my mom still has. She was funny about not putting them on herself. :)

We will get through this season of life. Just like we did 8 years ago. It's crazy to think that 9 months ago everything checked out ok. That 5 months ago we were hyper-focused on the heart. And now we're here. AGAIN. Brutal. No one signed up for this. No one wants to be here. But here we are. And ready for the fight of our lives. So to you, ugly cancer spots, hear this:

We are ready to fight you! So to you, ugly cancer cells floating around...this time we are armed with 7 year olds who don't know any better. We have 7 year olds who will pray every day and every night for their Mamma. You don't stand a chance against us!