Mama Knows Best

Lately it seems as though the saying “when it rains, it pours” is coming true in our household. If I created a time line of the events that have taken place over the course of the past five months, y’all just wouldn’t believe all that we’ve been through already. And just as things started looking up, I was punched in the gut with devastating news.

On Sunday evening, I called over to my friend Melanie’s house to find out that she passed away Saturday afternoon. What the? I had literally talked to her Friday afternoon, at which point she was very much alive. She was talking about the tests her doctors ran, how she was feeling short of breath and about her hypothyroidism diagnosis. Never in a million years did I think that would be my last conversation with someone I held so near to my heart. And when her husband John broke the news to me, I felt like a weight had been dropped on my chest.

Tonight was the visitation and as hard as I tried, I could not fight back the tears. I burst into tears immediately. She looked so odd to me- not the Mel I was used to seeing. My Mel, the woman that I loved so dearly, had her hair in a pony tail, glasses on her face and a smile that could brighten a dim, dark room. I still feel like I am in some sort of warped, twisted dream… that at any moment, she’s going to call and this will all be over with.

Tomorrow is the funeral and I’m struggling. How could a family who has already suffered so much have to suffer more? I will never be able to wrap my mind around such a tragedy. And while I am at the funeral, my mind will be wandering off towards my mother in-law, who goes in for her first round of mesothelioma treatments. My heart is breaking for so many people right now. Despite all of the events that have unfolded over the past few months, I will continue trying to walk with my head high and believing that things will get better.