This weekend Mom came up to visit Sister K and me.  Dad brought her up Friday evening and my Grandpa tagged along for the ride.  On Saturday afternoon after the wedding shower Sister K and I drove Mom to meet Dad at a halway point.  A lot happened this weekend in a short amount of time.  We had incredible highs and incredible lows.  But, that’s how it always seems.  It was also a lot to process in approximately 24 hours of a visit. I plan to write more about the weekend and the lessons learned. For now, some general weekend lessons:

1.  Stress and MS are not friends.  Neither are helpful under a perfect scenario and together they are full blown enemies.  They antagonize each other and they do it at Mom’s expense.

2. I know MS is awful but I forget how much this has truly hindered Mom’s life.  How it has been a big blow to her plans and dreams for this stage in her life.

3. My family is full of not only love but committment.  Committment to Mom and committment that we will not allow MS to hinder her life or our family’s life anymore than it already has.

4. There is a big fear of the unknown for Mom. I need to find ways to eliminate that fear.

5. Laughter is an amazing medicine. It can calm nerves, make people smile and even eliminate pain for a brief period.

This weekend two things happened.  Simultaneously.  Without me being aware. My hatred for MS grew while at the same time my love, admiration and respect for Mom grew.