What Motherhood Means to me

This is my entry for a contest. You are supposed to post a picture and show how it tells what motherhood means to you. There are so many cute pictures of the girls as babies or doing sweet things as children, but nothing has meant motherhood to me more than this picture. This is my sweet 5 year old, undergoing chemotherapy for Non-Hogkins Lymphoma. We are sitting on the window seat that becomes my bed when she has to stay in the hospital. I look at this picture and recall her little balding head, her cheeks that are still pudgy from steroids and marvel at the joy we have gained from spending so much time together and the privilege it has been to serve her during this difficult time. My joy has come from making her hard little life easier, no matter the toll it takes on me. There are so many things we think about as our children grow, how we would cope with certain things, which most often pass us by. The true measure of a mom isn't in the easy times, but in the difficult times. As awful as this time has been, I am truly grateful for the chance to help my baby overcome and persevere. I am especially grateful for the chances to smile and laugh with her in the middle of an overwhelming trial. In a few months, she will no longer have to endure chemo, in a few years it will seem like a distant memory. But I will never forget the blessings that have come from this.