Giving a little in return

I had the opportunity yesterday to give a little back to my daughter, Kelsey, who did so much for me in the year that I was recovering from cancer, treatments and surgery. My service to her was so miniscule in comparison to what she did for me...but at least I got to do SOMETHING. She had her wisdom teeth pulled yesterday morning...so I got to be here during the day, and try to help as much as possible. She was an extremely easy patient, so my service wasn't very much. She mostly just slept. I got to change her little ice bags to help cut down on the swelling in her cheeks. I also got to serve her some chocolate ice cream, and make her some soft food that she could eat. But mostly I just thought about the hours of service she and Spence gave to me. When she was in surgery, I had some anxious moments. I knew that what she was doing was very routine, and had basically NO risks, but even so I was a little anxious. It made me think of how truly worrisome it had to be for my loved ones when I was in surgery, and they really didn't know what the outcome would be. It is far easier to be the one going "under the knife" than to be the one who is waiting to hear the results of that surgery. Caregivers have a very stressful responsibility. So it was just a very small lesson to me to remind me again how grateful I need to be for those who watched over and cared for me. How grateful I am that I am not in that situation anymore...and that I can think of others a little more, rather than have them thinking about me. I promised Kelsey that I would NOT put a picture of her with her puffy cheeks on my blog...but I am thankful she is doing well, and that yesterday was just a nice day to be together. She is an amazing young woman, and I am thankful to be her mother.