My Mamaw Etheridge

I have been putting off blogging about this for a while. It is very hard for me to think about all of the things that go along with this issue, let alone write about them. My Mamaw Etheridge has stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

She is almost 86 years old. She has survived breast cancer and ovarian cancer. She has lost a son and a husband. She can coax flowers and vegetables from the ground with the touch of her finger. She raised 5 boys and one girl to adulthood. She is one of the strongest people that I have ever met.

When I think about Mamaw, I think about peace, nature, and food. She is that kind of Mamaw. The kind that is just comfort on legs. She is the kind of Mamaw that will tell you that you are fat, but mean it with all the love in the world. I am not sure how that is possible, but it is.

She has lived along the water her entire 85+ years. She is a river girl with creeks and branches running through her veins. I believe that the water has helped to carve her into the person that she is. A woman of stone. A woman that can take anything that comes at her and yet bend with the shape of the times. No matter what changes in the family over the years..she does not change. No matter what shocking thing one of the children or the grandchildren throws at her she does not waver. She knows that the water will run its course and all that she can do is remain steady.

I love her and I am broken at the thought of her not being a rock in my life anymore. I do not know if I can withstand the pressure of these waters. I hope that I have learned something from her. I guess I know that I have. She is a part of me.