10/08/2026
When my son was 18 months old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I was still learning how to be a mother when suddenly I was learning how to survive.
There were surgeries, treatments, exhaustion, fear, and more than a few days when I had absolutely nothing left in the tank. Meanwhile, there was a toddler who still needed snacks, snuggles, and someone to admire whatever fascinating thing he’d just discovered.
Life did not stop being life because mine had been turned upside down.
I used to think being a good mother meant being consistently available, patient, present, and capable. Cancer had other plans.
What I learned instead was that love has a remarkable capacity to adapt. That repair matters more than perfection. That asking for help is an act of courage. That grief and joy can sit at the same dinner table.
And that sometimes the person teaching you the most about resilience is the tiny human who doesn’t even know what the word means.
I wouldn’t wish that season on anyone. And I won’t pretend every hard thing happens for a reason.
But I can tell you this: even in the most frightening chapters, there was so much life being lived.
And so much love.
These are a few things motherhood taught me while cancer was trying to teach me something else.
