Circle the Wagons

So I am going to lay some truth on you. 

Some days are way not zen.

Some days are the anti-zen.

Some days are all “then in despair I hung my head, ‘there is no peace on earth’, I said”.

Even on days where I use every single tool in my Toolbox o’ Zen, there are catastrophic moments that leave me gasping for air and wondering which end is up.

These are the days where I am reminded of the power of community, probably the greatest lesson I have learned over the last 14 years, just after “Dang, My Kid is Mightier than All Mightiness” and “If a Doctor Comes to Find You In a Playroom, You Are In Big Trouble”.  In the darkest moments of G’s illness, the prayers of others, the food brought by people, the information shared by those a few steps further along in the trenches—these things carried me, carried my family.

This week has been one of those weeks for a dear, dear friend, one of those weeks of gut-punching devastation. 

The one peril of the power of community is the reality that we share each other’s heartache—but in this connection comes wholehearted living, and I would not trade it for all the zen in the world. It is in loving others and caring and working to help each other that devastating moments become survivable, if not exactly bearable. Even with the grief and pain of this connection—the love is so much more powerful.

As my dear friend received a devastating new diagnosis for her son, a young man diagnosed with brain cancer two days after my G, our community heard the call to rally—a community built of cancer mommas and good friends and chosen family. We are circling the wagons around Melina. Granted, that reference is derived from Wild Bill’s travelling Wild West shows (and then Hollywood), not so much history—but the idea of circling around those we love, those who are hurting, is a powerful one. We can’t fix things. We can’t make it better. We can only do those peripheral things like pray and feed and share info and maybe send ill-advised stuffed animals (I am trying not to, but…Must. Send. Something. Soft and Nice!). But we can do it in a circle of love and support and solidarity.

This is not what I planned to blog about today—especially since yesterday was supposed to be blog day—but wagons don’t circle themselves. I guess in Beauty and the Beast they might, but that would be creepy. But this is what needs to be said today.

Please join our circle of support. Please, in this month of childhood cancer awareness, help us love, support, and protect a mama who has been relentless in her love for her mighty boy. After 14 years, to have this moment—she needs our love more than ever.

We love you, Melina, and Kayleigh, and super Levi. Know that there is a circle surrounding you. 

Please join us on Operation Love for Levi on facebook; please pray/meditate/dance by the light of the moon for this family; if you would like to financially help the family directly (ie without the fees GoFundMe takes), use the Venmo app to send money straight to loveforlevi (with Melina McAlwee as the contact). 

And really. Let’s circle the wagons and find some cures for childhood cancer already. 

#loveforlevi