Mama's wish


Latte with heart design in front of clay pot containing aloe plant
Aloha
I loved Hawaii! What a great get away, with a wonderful group of women. What's not to love? Sunshine, lush scenery, good food, hot tubs and pools, it was an amazing vacation.

How nice it was to take care of just me for a week. Nana and Papa kept Aiden while I was away. Daddy and Ellie spent some quality time together. It worked out perfectly.

Me (Jenn) standing in the soft pale sand with the blue ocean in the background
Feel the warmth
hile in Hawaii I saw lots of families with small kids, and I started thinking about planning a family vacation. Where would we go? Hawaii was nice but I don't think 12+ hours of travel would be my first choice. What would we do for fun? We would have to find a destination that has activities for toddlers and preschoolers. Of course Walt Disney World comes to mind, it would be perfect, but that's a tad pricey.  If anyone has ideas of where to go for a fun family vacation with 2 young children let me know in the comments.

Peep the cat, Ellie, Mommy, using filter that gives us fuzzy pink ears with hearts on them
Ohana
This got me thinking, there should be a "make a wish" type of organization that would arrange family vacations for parents with a terminal diagnosis who have small children. Wouldn't it be great to give these families a chance to make some cherished memories, to reconnect and just BE together, some time to relax and recharge?

If anyone wants to do something in my honour when I die this is a great idea, one I would be proud to be associated with. We can call it "Mama's wish", as in my wish to start such a charity, and also the wishes of other mama's (and papa's) who have a terminal diagnosis.

There's nothing fun about having breast cancer metastesized to the bones. Knowing its terminal and that time with my family, especially my kids, is limited, is devastating. I need to make sure they don't forget me, and they remember how loved they are. I want to make as many mories as possible, I want them to have tons of pictures of us together so they can look back and think of happy times shared as a family. I know I am not alone here, I'm sure most parents with a terminal diagnosis feel the same. So who is going to help them? Maybe that will be my legacy.

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