Motherless, but we are going to be ok...

I traveled to Chicago this past weekend with my dear friend Amy, who lost her mom to pancreatic cancer in January of this year.  For those keeping score, that is 3 cancer diagnoses and 3 losses in my immediate close circle over the last 3 years, plus my own diagnosis.  Really?  I continue to search for the why.  

Amy and I have been friends since middle school - we cried over broken hearts, laughed through the drama of growing up, experienced our first taste of alcohol and everything in between, together....this year, we are grieving the loss of our mothers, together...which has come with broken hearts, laughing until we cried over the drama and lots of alcohol.


This weekend's trip to Chicago connected us with a soul sister to Amy.  Amy took a different approach to research and grieving than I, she turned to on-line support groups and met Mollie.  Mollie is 10 years our junior and also lost her mom within the last year to pancreatic cancer.  There is no way anyone could have predicted or imagined that Amy's suburban life in Alpharetta, GA would connect her with a single, millennial living in Chicago.  Yet, we share this common bond of watching our mothers fight courageous battles with this horrible disease and ultimately losing their battles, leaving us...motherless.

I was thrilled to tag along and meet Mollie in person.  Amy has been talking about her for months and mourned when she learned that Mollie's mom passed away last fall.  I felt like I knew Mollie although I had never even exchanged an e-mail with her.  We arrived in Chicago on Friday and planned to meet up with Mollie on Saturday afternoon - from the moment she came up the escalator at Water Tower Mall - it was like we had been friends for a lifetime.  We immediately starting laughing and sharing stories - we laughed, a lot, cried a little and felt connected like no one else could understand.  The weekend was full of Chicago experiences, emotional support that no amount of therapy could provide and memories that I will forever cherish.  

Yet again, this journey has connected me with someone that I never would have met had it not been for my crazy cancer experience.  I continue to be inspired and encouraged that I while I have experience great loss, I am not alone!