Membership has Its Privileges

Needles freak me out. It still amazes me that I do my own weekly allergy shots, though it amazes my family even more that I can spend more than 30 seconds inserting each needle... I am a huge advocate of natural childbirth and the Bradley Method, not because I am an idealistic and informed parent, but because I am a certified wimp. Stick a needle in my spine, or tough it out, the choice is obvious to me! We had our Bradley class reunion when our kids were a couple months old. Pierce was an award winning projectile spitter, and not even close to sleeping through the night, so I had no great observations or experiences to share, I could barely remember how I got to the meeting. But one of the Dads remarked that having a child was amazing to him because he received automatic free admission to a club he never even knew existed--the Dad's Club. He was right, the Mom's Club is just as rewarding. Then, I started a business and I learned what it means to receive a Gold Membership to the owners' club.

And now, though I am not one of the lucky ones that has been chosen to take on cancer myself, as a parent of a childhood cancer recipient, I get to belong to the Cancer Club. You can look down on it and be sad for all it's members, but I am so privileged to have come to know all the members and hear all their stories. And it doesn't stop at cancer. People who have cystic fibrosis and even mental illness or fibromyalgia all belong to the same club--the one that no one really wants to join. One of the benefits of membership is getting to know people at a level you were never privileged to reach before.

Sharing a journey through fear and sickness, uncertainty, unwavering faith and bottomless doubt molds and changes you in ways you never expected and opens you to insights and relationships you never imagined. One of my customers today shared a brief part of her cancer journey and reinforced one of the reasons I write--to give voice to the majority of members who are unable to share their perspectives for countless reasons, but whose stories deserve to be recognized. She also shared a part of her daughter's battle with situational depression and how it has changed her life, all for the better, in my mind. It is true that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, if we are smart enough and brave enough to embrace it and learn from it.

This is a rambling post, but what I wanted to say was thanks to all the people who have enriched our lives with their knowledge and experience and who have been brave enough to blaze the trail before us. We appreciate the soldiers who fight for our freedom, and our ancestors who gave us life, we should also remember, every day, the medical pioneers who endure tests and treatments and unimaginable agony so that they can continue to enrich our lives in every capacity from teachers to nurses, realtors to electricians, salesmen to engineers and scientists. There are so many members of the cancer and other medical maladies club that we owe a great deal of thanks, so this post is for them, thanks for being strong! With love and respect, Lisa