Have you ever experienced the sensation of hitting a brick wall? Well, I hadn't until a few weeks ago. Life was moving along at its usual break-neck speed and then something happened that changed things. At a routine dental exam, my youngest daughter Hayley was sitting in the chair getting her teeth checked. She has beautiful teeth and does a great job taking care of them. However, the dentist lingered longer than usual examining her tongue. He finally said, I think this little piece of tissue under her tongue doesn't look quite right. I asked him what he was concerned about and he replied squamos cell carcinoma. My heart stopped, I about fell over and I wanted to throw up. Time stood still. I finally stammered, "um, what?" He said the little patch of grayish-white flesh was probably nothing, but he wanted us to get it checked out. So, she has an appointment with an oral surgeon and I've wasted hours and hours researching the prevalence of oral cancer in children. It is extremely rare. I can't even find much info about it because it is so rare, but right now I am dealing with an uncertainty that is eating me from the inside out. I hope and pray it is nothing. So, I'm counting the days, hours, and minutes until we see the oral surgeon, all the while I feel like I'm holding my breath and am on the verge of blowing chunks.
I love the magic of Santa. It doesn't matter what's happening in the "real" world, when a man walks in dressed in red with a big burly white beard, everyone smiles; even the adults. These pictures are from our PGHS Santa party. Santa comes and talks with each child and gives them a gift. Hayley and Whitney were all smiles and they were thrilled to report to Santa that they had been exceptionally good this year. This reminds me to take a step back from mom-mode and really appreciate the good that is in each of my daughters. Sure, they aren't perfect, but they are decent, kind human beings who bring a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.
