What a title, right? The truth is that everyone has their own harrowing story of 2020. I don’t know a single soul for whom it was a stellar year. “Why not?” some may ask (maybe only those who literally lived under a rock at the time…). I’m pretty sure that each person has their own answer to that question. The short answer that covers it all is this: everyone endured something difficult during that infamous year. Everyone changed. Everything changed. The “how” is another part where each person has their own tale. Not everyone is ready to talk about their experiences that year, but our story is the reason PH@H even exists, so…I am about to tell it to you…at least, the first part.
On New Year’s Eve, 2019, I was so excited for the new year to begin. We said “cheers” at midnight, and just like that, 2020 started n . I should have known something was coming when I awoke with a small head cold on January 1st. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was annoying. But that’s life, right? It goes on. Until you get a phone call that nearly stops the world from turning. Just three weeks into 2020, we got the news no one ever wants to hear. My husband was diagnosed with cancer.
The original “C” word; at least it was before the entrance of the virus-that-shall-not-be-named. It came to visit our house as the most unwelcome guest known to mankind. Not only did he have cancer, the tumor was so large that he needed immediate surgery. We had only four days to prepare for this. Everything else was yet unknown. All we knew was that surgery was the only option to save his life. So into the pond we jumped: scared, unprepared, and dizzy with appointments. To be honest, it was really hard to find the joy in those days. But I need to tell you all something here. It’s ok. It’s ok to not be able to see the joy; to not have the energy to even look for it. And we didn’t. All we could do was gather the things we thought maybe we would need post-surgery, love on the kids and each other, and pray.
That last one…PRAY…to tell the truth that was difficult and easy at the same time. I had no words, yet God heard my heart. I didn’t know what to ask for, yet He provided EVERYTHING we needed. Everything. To this day, I can hardly put into words the incredible support we received from family, friends, church, and our community. The meals, groceries, cards, phone calls, financial support, the prayers…it was quite overwhelming! People brought us things without us even asking. We never needed to. I cried almost daily out of shear thankfulness.
Because I know you are wondering, we are so blessed to report that the surgery was a complete success! The tumor was one of the largest the specialist had ever seen. Before the surgery, he had been almost sure the cancer had spread to other parts of my sweet husband’s body. This was obviously not what we wanted to hear. However, after the surgery, he looked me straight in the eye and told me he was shocked to find that it was encapsulated!!!! What a relief!!! The likelihood of spread was so much lower. Yes, there were then CLEAN scans to verify this!!! Now just to head down the long road of healing. It seemed so much easier now. Apparently, a pandemic was burgeoning all over the world, but honestly, we hardly noticed. At least, not yet. All we needed to know was that the cancer was gone, and my husband would be okay. I think the house could have fallen down around us and I wouldn’t have cared much. The day before his surgery, we had also celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever figure those “for better or for worse” lines would apply so heavily all in one year.
To tell you it was a humbling experience is an understatement, but don’t worry…there’s even MORE coming. I’ll save that for the next episode. For now, I’ll tell you that although it was only the end February by the time we got the fantastic news that he was cancer free, our excitement was cut short by March. The year of horror was not finished with our family yet. It tried over and over to steal our joy and our peace. And it almost did. But by the grace of God, we are still here, still finding the joy in our everyday, and still spreading it wherever we can. The year that tried to take us down actually spurred us forward to where we are today. So while you await 2020…Part 2, I’ll leave you with this: Do everything you can, everyday you can, for everyone you can (include yourself in that “everyone” mamas!). Dance in the rain, sing in the storm, yell into the wind. Take nothing for granted. Actively look for joy in all you do. You won’t be sad you did. I promise. Until the next episode…blessings to you and your family.