Friday Fun Moments

We have been absent from our family blog for one month exactly as our son Thomas was diagnosed with cancer. We were publishing over at CaringBridge (https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/thomaslauer/), but are now going to try to bring the two together seamlessly in order to continue the family blog I have written for 14 years. This blog post is copied from CaringBridge and is being published retroactively. Please subscribe to our family blog to receive updates as I publish!

I am so grateful for the meals we've been given because (1) meal planning and cooking is my most challenging domestic task and (2) these gifts free me up to keep my stress managed and just be a mommy. Our family is praying aloud for every family who is delivering us food every time we sit to eat.

On Friday, I knew the B family was going to drop off a meal for us, which meant we did have time to create some joy by letting the children swim, something we can't do if I'm cooking and unable to supervise.

We also stayed up watching a movie (the first half, anyway!) of a fun movie just for the oldest three kids and us adults. These moments let us connect with them, too.

Everything we're doing in these few days is with intent while Thomas still feels good. I cannot express fully my cognitive dissonance of looking at beautiful, strong, whole Thomas, yet knowing how serious is his condition. How can it be?

I ran the numbers: Neuroblastoma is diagnosed in about 600 children per year, almost entirely between ages newborn and 5 years old. There are about 23 million children in the U.S. from zero to 5. Therefore, 600 children out of 23 million means Thomas had a 0.00002% chance of developing a neuroblastoma. He is one special boy.

I have adopted a practice in the last week: I keep a laminated holy card in my jewelry box and, each morning while putting on my jewelry, I pick it up and read it . . . I pick up my cross and I pick up Thomas's cross for him. I wear this holy card against my skin all day to remember this privilege.


Your Cross Prayer by St. Francis de Sales

The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart. This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.

He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God. 

Friday Gratitude List--never can be complete!

--gifties arriving from the L family and the B family #1
--dinner from the B family #2
--homemade banana bread and jam delivered by B family #3
--emails of encouragement from some dear people
--Aunt Courtney staying with us is giving me a lot of peace because I know babysitting is covered this week and I can steal away for ten minutes here or there to just cry or breathe
--one of our children desires to help me write thank you notes to people, so this child is writing quite a few of them on my behalf!