Aunt Shirley

My Aunt Shirley, who I love very much, is continuing to fight cancer. She has had a really tough time for the past few days. She is often in my thoughts and prayers but even more so tonight. I get updates from my mom and dad (Aunt Shirley's brother) who are always at her side, and I just am praying for my aunt's comfort and wellness to return. I know that she is fighting very hard, but it is a very hard fight.

Right now she is not having many visitors simply because she is uncomfortable and tired, and her immune system is very compromised. I wish I could visit her. I wish I could do something beyond sending flowers and making get-well cards with the kids. I know how much she appreciates these gestures of love, but I wish that somehow I could give her more.

She simply has always been an amazing aunt. When my siblings and I were children, she would have us stay with her for a week. She would spoil us and play with us. She would let us dress up in her old dresses. We went camping with her. She took us on vacation with her to a very special place for our family, Pentwater, Michigan. She was a teacher, and let us help her set up her third grade classroom. She was one of the reasons that I became a teacher myself. Guess what I taught? Third and fourth grade. :) She counseled me through my college years, encouraged me as a young teacher, and gave me all of her teaching materials when she retired. When I started dating Dave, she right away loved him, and when we married, always told me what a good choice I made. We got together at countless holiday celebrations, and she never missed one of our childrens' birthday parties. We would go out for special dates to lunch or dinner. She would never fail to tell me what a good mom I am, even when I doubt myself, and always tells her friends with pride how wonderful her great nieces and nephews are.

She is such a good person, and I can't stand to see cancer hurting her.

Will you please say a prayer for my aunt?