Today is Michelle’s birthday.
She is the new addition to our family.
Not a baby–I am 55 here. But she is my daughter-in-law, just married last December to my son, Brigham. She is a most choice addition for many reasons.
I often write about the trials of this mortal life.
Michelle’s mom died of breast cancer when she was about 14, leaving her with two brothers, and a narcissistic father.
I asked her today a little bit about her mom.
She must have been an extraordinary woman of faith. Her first marriage ended with the death of her husband. Her second ended with her own death.
Having survived breast cancer at a young age, she became pregnant with her first two kids, Michelle being the second. And then the cancer that was in remission, decided not to be in remission, and she lost her third child, undergoing chemotherapy. It was about this time that she found friendships among her Mormon neighbors. And sometime later, joined the Mormon church.
She was blessed with a second remission, and a third child was added to the family. This would have been the best ending, had the cancer not returned a third time. And this time, it never went into remission, but left her blind for two years, eventually taking her life.
Michelle is remarkably pleasant, resilient, optimistic, “bubbly” and shows no signs of this most difficult trial.
As she prepared to marry my son, many of the women close to her mom, and watching Michelle mature, assured me of this most delightful young woman, who somehow overcame not only her mother’s death, but a problematic family life with respect to her father.
Her father has not talked to her since the wedding, but we have welcomed her into our family, such a precious soul, I cannot imagine anyone turning her out.
And somehow, I sense her mom’s joy of seeing her here, with us. Where we can love and appreciate her addition to our family–and admire and weep for the sacrifices of her mother.
Happy Birthday Michelle.
