My Mom's Diagnosis

Everything is perfectly fine, everything is great, then one day it all comes crashing down and shattered pieces are left. My life would never be the same but I guess change is for the best and it forced me to become the person I am today. It’s rough to be the oldest child, especially when your mom is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and you have 3 younger sisters that look to you for comfort when their mom can’t be there. When the cancer is spread throughout your moms body doctors can’t just get rid of it no matter how badly you wish they could. Rounds of chemotherapy only slow it down, yet it’s still there a lurking monster waiting to reappear at any given moment. Nothing can even begin to describe the fear I felt, and still have to deal

Parent’s Divorce Six years ago, a summer afternoon, my dad hugged me and I said “I will be gone for three days, I have a job in Austin, but I promise that I will be back before your birthday. I promise.” Days, weeks, months almost two years passed by and I

Without my family I wouldn't be the person I am today. Ever since I can remember my family has been there for me. Especially my older sister Kyla. She as been there for the ups and downs in my life. There is no other person that understands me, knows me better than my sister. Without her I don't feel complete, I like i am missing

Losing my mother, the most important person to me , was a life changing event that altered the way I see the world. Knowing that she is in a better place and at peace is everything I could've wanted for my mother. As me and my siblings grow older we miss her more every day. I have learned never to take someone for granted because we aren't promised forever with them. We have to make the most of who and what we

I went from a single father to a wholesome family who actually ate dinner together and liked to hug and talk about their feelings. My world shifted upside down. This realization opened my eyes, and my heart. My father dying taught me to understand that many people with a hard outer shell are most likely being held back on the inside by something that has affected them. His death taught me to appreciate everyone and show kindness because that is what was shown to me during my time of need. My youthful family who adopted me, did not expect for me to feel like a part of a family or call them my parents. They got me counseling and showed me the affection that I needed to cope. Without these generous deeds, I would have crumbled. I believe whole heartedly that showing appreciation for those who also walk on this earth, like my parents did for me,will help anyone get through a rough day with a

One weekend, we had decided to clean out the house to surprise my mother. My father found papers stashed away that revealed theft charges; my mother had stolen medication when she substituted for the nurse in my elementary school. I remember my dad scouring the house for more evidence, even finding a stash of pill bottles under their mattress. She had another court date coming up that he learned about, just a few weeks before a family trip to Disney. Shortly after that hearing, my family took our last vacation as a whole, knowing that a key member would be lost to us the Monday after our return; she was going into work-release for two months. Before the end of those sixty days, my father learned that my mother had been unfaithful. Their marriage ended, and at eleven and nine, my sister and I said what we didn't realize would be goodbye to our mother for a great while. Her drug abuse continued, and months of time would pass between visits. We saw that sweet, ideal mother devolve into an addict. This loss has shaped me greatly, and it has taught me integrity, strength of character, and great love for others; without these things, my mother cost herself her family and

You never truly know how much someone means to you until they are gone. All of the hot summer days spent at her house, the home cooked meals for lunch, the daily routine of watching game shows on GSN, the hours and hours of playing monopoly, and working the concession stand at Evans Park for the summer are now just cherished memories that I have with my grandma.

An experience that has made a huge impact on who I am today is when my single mother was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer when I was a sophomore in high school. I was instantly heart broken and terrified I would lose the person that motivated me to do

As the days, weeks, months and years when by. Me and my mom finally came back to Santa fe we were finally back together. Daily, i look forward to waking up each morning to watch my little brother, dad and mom there for me and with a big smile every dad. This made me learn it’s hard to not have a dad around you a dad that you would feel some around with. Even though me and my mom had hard time and also had bad memories but also good

Second grade September 27th 2009. I was on my dad’s weekend and my mom was in the hospital for a weeks. I would visit her every day and sometimes bring her flowers. But on september 27th I woke up and walked into my living room and my dad was sitting on the couch looking sad. I asked what was wrong and then a knock was heard on the door it was my step dad and half brother. My step dad had puffy eyes he was crying. He told me to sit down and my brother came out and sat next to me. My dad looked at us and he spoke up your mother had just passed this morning. I was shocked I was hurt I was scared.I didn’t know if i should cry or run away. I’ve learned that losing someone you love is tough.

My parents had been married for thirty-four years as the time of her death. During that time, they raised three children and were the proud grandparents of six grandkids. No one had to guess where you stood with my mom – they knew. She gave love and showed compassion to anyone who allowed. Growing up, all of our friends called her “Mama T” because she mothered so many and her last name was Tatum.

Ever since I was little, I have always appreciated what I had in my life. When I was four years old, my dad passed away. I only have little, short memories, but I can still remember him. It’s like I’m missing half of the pieces to a puzzle. Losing him has made me realize how fortunate I am to have a family. Every day, I work as hard as I can and try to be the best person I can be, to make him proud.

Memoir- Losing My Best Friend I remember everything as if it were yesterday. The shock, the sadness, the pain, and the sickness she had to suffer. I remember sitting beside her, holding her hand as she had IV’s put into her arms. I remember the conversations we had; she’d explain to me how she just wanted to go outside again; she’d be enthusiastic for the day she got out of the hospital; we made plans for when she beat cancer. Two years have gone by so fast, and there hasn’t been a day I haven’t thought about her.

There is one loss in my life that affected many aspects of my life for many years, the divorce of my parents. I was in barley entering the first grade and the tender age of five, soon to turn six, when my parents spent their last night as a married couple. I do not have many memories of my parents as a couple but I do remember the day my Daddy left. He was a policeman and I watched as his cruiser drove away from our family home. I remember my mom crying and not being willing to console me or explain to me what was happening. All I knew is there was a fight, my dad left, it seemed different than other times when he left, and my mom was crying. Everything about my life changed in the blink of a five year old’s eyes which is what makes this loss so significant in my life.

Losing My Mother I can still remember vividly the day my mother passed away. My mother passed away at a critical point in my life when I was seventeen years old from a short term illness. She was sick for a week and I remember thinking this could be serious, however, my mother declined to go to the hospital because of the distance and financial hardship. I had loss my father when I was three years old, so my mother was a single mother. I have step sisters and brother, but I was not particularly close to them. Losing my mother was a defining moment in my life for it changed my life irrevocably. I was devastated, but I had to become strong, proactive and it spurred me to choose a new career path.