He’s Gonna Die at Armageddon!

When her parents arrived home 12-year-old Mom came running out of the house screaming “He’s gonna die at Armageddon!!!” regarding her brother, Alan. She caught him smoking a cigarette and he bribed her with a candy bar to not tell. Well, she accepted the terms of the bribe, but her innocent and pure conscience ate away at her and ultimately, she couldn’t take it. Sadly, the bribe had already been consumed and Alan couldn’t get a refund. Turns out someone dying at Armageddon was an ever-present fear of Mom’s. Mal said “Luci put the fear of God in all of us!” and Dad says she still does!

True enough, she hasn’t changed. In their recent move we came across some old family photos. One of which was me around 13 years old with PINK hair! You know Luci would have NEVER approved. I don’t even remember doing it! I told Mom that and told her I don’t remember getting beat for it (which I obviously would’ve had Mom seen it)! She promptly retorted “Oh! We can take care of that right now!” I rolled my eyes. Guess some things never change!

She claims she hasn’t always been a “Goodie Two Shoes”. For example: I came across an Easter Bunny pencil in her stuff and said I was offended! *waves sarcasm flag* And she said, “Everybody has crazy ideas about how good I am, and nobody even knows that I have an Easter pencil!” Scandalous!!! DOFL!

It’s amazing how much we end up being like our parents (whether we like it or not, lol) Although in many ways I’m more like Dad and Ben is more like Mom… when it comes to her zeal for righteousness, I definitely got that! That’s a nice way of saying what Ben will tell you – that I had a bit of an “it’s not fair” complex when we were kids and I was certainly not afraid to be a tattle-tale. To this day if something ain’t right, it should be!!! DOFL!

When I was at their house last week I woke up feeling kind of sickish. Mom came and sat down next to me and said, “Didn’t you get the newsletter a while ago that said I’m the only one allowed to be sick?” This is the same woman who laughed at me when I broke my arm as a child.

Now the soundtrack playing in the background is a familiar one from my childhood – the gentle *ting* of dry beans dropping against a stainless-steel bowl as Mom scrupulously sorts them before soaking them overnight to cook. Isn’t it funny how little sounds like that can trigger memories from decades ago? That’s right, I said decades. I’m that old! 🙂

Seeing Mom sleeping the other day I realized another thing we share (Ben too) is we all sleep the same way: fetal position with our balled-up fist under our chin. If that doesn’t scream “averse to human interaction”, I don’t know what else does! But that is where I’m conflicted between the genes inherited from Mom and Dad because I also enjoy entertaining people. Well, now that I say that, Mom actually does too. Growing up our home was ALWAYS filled with people! Many have memories of our back door always being open and being free to come at anytime. I treasure those times! Ben and I reflect that mentality in our homes now. I’m privileged to have a roommate who also maintains an open-door policy! But when we reach our “Peopling Max”, we are done. Reaction to crisis is something Mom & I share. We typically power through to the end and cry about it later – maybe even having our face malfunction for a few days. This circumstance doesn’t allow for that. The prolonged stress reaches a breaking point periodically and  likely more frequently as we near the end. So, if you walk in to find one of us face-down on the floor and ♪♫♪”Hello Darkness, my old friend.”♪♫♪ is playing in the background, don’t be too alarmed. We’ll resurface soon enough and continue in the trek. Well, maybe check that we are still breathing. 🙂

Our family has been hit double-time lately! In addition to Mom’s health, we lost an uncle this week. Dad’s baby brother, Kevin, died on the 25th of April. We again take comfort in the promises of Jehovah God at Acts 24:15 for our future when our whole family will be reunited with perfect health-both mental and physical!

We did get to reunite part of our family a few weeks back when Mom’s nephew came in to town for a visit with his lovely new wifey as shown in the photo above.

Mom is maintaining quite well, considering. We will be forever grateful for the amazing medical teams Mom has been assigned! Her current hospice physician, nurse & other staff have been doing an incredible job of staying ahead of her symptoms! She’s coping so well that twice now medical professionals have walked into the house and asked to see the patient. When she points to herself, they are flabbergasted! They just can’t believe she’s dying on the inside. Terminal cancer diagnosis doesn’t always present as a bald head and frail body. Mom’s beautiful face is the face of cancer. We realize it won’t always be this way but we’re very thankful for the health and energy she has now, so she can enjoy life! They said that renal failure is the preferred method of death in her case. So, we’re wondering: is it wrong to pray for kidneys to go downhill first? I’m not sure but I figure it’s worth a try! 😀

Her nurse told her it’s even okay to have a drink here and there as she feels like it. The other day she was feeling particularly nauseated and we asked if she wanted something to drink. She said, “I’d hate to throw up perfectly good bourbon.” DOFL! Before you think to call Mom and tell her that alcohol will kill her, just stop and think. 😉 Mom has been pleasantly surprised that people, as a general rule-save a few well-meaning friends, haven’t been trying to suggest the latest “cure” for cancer. It is her wish to simply enjoy the time she has left, and we wholeheartedly support that choice!

Finally, Ben was asking the family deeply insightful questions when we were on our recent family vacation and one of them was “If you were a body of water would you be an ocean or fresh water?” Aunt Joon’s response? “I’m a mud hole. Cause mud holes are fun!” Here’s to being fun mud holes for as long as possible and hoping we all survive Armageddon! 😉

PS, in case you were wondering, yes. He did bring her Bachelor Buttons again this year…