I’m watching my sweet little boy as he tries really hard to choke down some lunch. I think Ben believes – after taking medication and participating in any sort of cancer treatment, of course – that eating is pure torture. He keeps looking over at me to see if I’m still watching so he can take a break without me “encouraging” him to take another bite. Poor kid. I can’t even use the usual guilt trips. When I mention that there are children in Africa who are starving and would gladly eat that food he says he’s more than willing to ship it to them. And besides, he has cancer. Doesn’t that cut him some slack?
I hate to see him struggling so much with eating before he does a week of treatment. The week of antibody therapy is so hard on him and eating falls way down on his list of priorities. On top of the pain, there’s his “pain-in-the-butt” mom harping on him to eat something. I’m sure he wants to poke my eyes out.
Oh, I’m not all that bad. After all, I just spent all day yesterday frolicking in the ocean with my son. I’m so NOT a beach girl. I don’t love the sand. I don’t love the salty ocean. I don’t love what lurks beneath the murky water. Plus, Shark Week has just occurred AND that shark movie recently came out… too many reminders of what is out there waiting for me to kick my legs. But I ignored my fears and took Ben out to ride the waves.
It ended up being a beautiful day. Several families staying at The Ronald got the opportunity to travel to the Jersey Shore to spend the day with a very generous benefactor and his family. Apparently, this family hosts several dates over the summer so the kids can get away and enjoy a day at the beach. The family provides food, boogie boards, umbrellas and chairs for the kiddos to enjoy.
I think all the kiddos had a blast playing in the waves and enjoying some sunshine. I know I had a great time watching the kiddos enjoying themselves.
A precious moment of normalcy in their tumultuous world of cancer.
Stronger Than I Look 