Thinking

Where have I been?.... thinking. October/November have always been thinking months for me. Many anniversaries in these months.

There are so many things that I want to write about but I'm in a mood of non sharing. This is quite strange for me as I am such an extrovert that sharing is a source of energy for me.

I'd like to share about JJ.

I run a prayer help line for catechist at my church. About 8 years ago one of the teachers son died of a ruptured appendix and it was kind of chaotic on how to get help to the family. Many people didn't get word and some didn't know her but wanted to reach out is some way. I prayed and asked if I could start this help line. There are over 100 volunteers in our program but we don't know each other but we are mostly mothers and share many of the same experiences and would want to help each other if we only knew how.

A week after I started the help line, I received an email telling me that JJ's cancer was acting up again and could we send out a prayer request. I called to get permission and immediately fell in love with this woman. I never had met her but we talked mom talk and had a wonderful conversation. She needed to go through some treatments and was going to be sick for a while and I said I bet we could get some meals started for her family and rides for her son who had some needs. He was in kindergarten at the time. We set up the meals and I called her a few times to check on her. Miraculously she went into remission sometime later. She had survived two other bouts within the past five years as well.

I finally met her a year later, She was at a training to become a catechists. She had only been a helper before. She was fun and so full of the spirit. About 6 months later, I received a call telling me that her cancer was back and she was pregnant as well. Her husband and her went away for a weekend to soak in the news of the cancer and lo and behold they made a little one while away.

She had signed up to take classes to be able to teach the next level earlier that year. She showed up to our first class. 4 months pregnant, with cancer, and no treatment. She made it through about 20 hours of the 40 hour class before being put on bed rest. A couple of weeks later, she was hospitalized and told that she most likely wouldn't leave the hospital ever again and they just needed to get the baby to the end of September about 7 weeks away. I went to go see her every Tuesday and Thursday. She let me read to her, rub her feet and back, hold her hand and just be a good person to her. She was amazing.

She had her baby boy September 30 and she lived a courageous 5 weeks after he was born. He was 10 weeks early but strong and a great little fighter. Both were able to leave the hospital so she could go home and die.

A few months before she died she was talking to her husband about her little lap dog that no one liked. She told her husband, he could remarry but the kids had to stay catholic, he could get new pets but her little spit fire of a dog was to die a natural death of old age. She made him promise to be nice to the dog. When she died, her dog was in her lap. 20 minutes later the dog died of a brain aneurysm. We like to believe that that was JJ's first miracle of her sainthood. We think she didn't want her husband to sin against the dog so she let him come with her. Her husband, snuck the dog in her casket. He waited until the burial before letting anyone know. There are laws about this.

I learned a lot from my friendship with JJ. I'm glad I'm in my thinking mode and she came for a visit.

JJ thank you for everything.