For those of you who don’t already know, my mother has been diagnosed with stage IV cancer, a recurrence of the cancer she was diagnosed with back in 2005. Stage IV cancer is treatable, but not curable. Mom has been experiencing complications mostly involving pain, and thus uses a wheelchair to get around.

We went to visit her a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time. We went on several day trips to get her out of the cabin she’s staying in, including getting my just-turned-18 sister a breast cancer ribbon tattoo. We introduced her to Dexter, she let the boys push her wheelchair around, we had a campfire, and even got her and Corbin’s hair cut.

The last day we were there, a friend of her, with help from their small town community, threw a luncheon, where they prepared almost 200 lunches to raise money for my mother’s medical bills. It was amazing, and I was so glad to see how much she is being cared for by that community.

It was an emotional trip; no matter your age, it is always hard to watch a parent get weaker, but I’m glad we’ll have these memories.