The New Stove and Lawn Furniture.

The New Stove and Lawn Furniture
By: Katie Moss

The first time my mom told me she had breast cancer was the night we got a new stove. I was in high school at the time. I was at my boyfriend’s on a Friday evening. I got a phone call from my mom telling me to come home. Not wanting to come home, I asked why? She just told me to get home. I was mad because it was a Friday and way before my curfew. Knowing not to argue I went home anyways. When I walked in the house four of my neighbors were helping my dad put in the new stove. They were all laughing and carrying on about how the stove didn't fit right. Life seemed okay in my house at that time, but I was wrong. My mom began to cry and told me to sit down. That's when she said the words no one wants to hear, "I have breast cancer." I stopped thinking at this point because I didn't know what was going to happen to my mom. I didn’t understand why cancer and why now. We immediately hugged and exchanged no words. This bad news turned awkward when the men in the kitchen would burst into laughter. It was hard to cope with the fact my mom could be dying, while the men were laughing and carrying on with life. The stove took priority in every one’s life for a second. Life seemed okay.

The second time my mom told me her cancer was back, my dad was throwing lawn furniture into the yard. I had just got home from school and most of my family was at my house. Not thinking anything of it, I walked in to find everyone crying. Mom looked at me and said, "My cancer came back." Being in shock and not understanding I decided I needed to do laundry. I just needed to be doing something and that was the first thing that came to mind. On my way downstairs I looked out the back door and saw my father throwing a lawn chair into the yard. After he threw it he leaned against the deck with his head down. This is when it hit me, this is real. My mom's cancer is real. I ran downstairs with my basket trying to understand once again what was going on. I was crying so hard while putting clothes into the washer, I didn't even separate the colors. After the wash had started I talked myself into going back upstairs. I don’t know how long I was downstairs but it felt like an eternity. Everything after that was a blur because all I could think about is my mother could die.

Six years have passed since my life was momentarily turned upside down on that Friday night. My family and I went about our daily lives dealing with breast cancer every day. The stove was installed, the laundry washed and dried, and we got new lawn furniture. My mom went about her life the best she could. Never missing events in my life made me forget about her cancer, but I knew it was still present. Watching my mom battle this and become a survivor has made me into who I am today. Losing her hair, chemotherapy treatments, and two rounds of radiation is enough to understand what cancer does. Six years have passed, but I will never forget the first time my mom told me she had breast cancer. Cancer should not be installed in our lives, but the stove needed to be.