Family

What kind of family do you have? Do you have the kind that will drop everything at the drop of the hat to help you or be with you in your time of need or do you have the kind of family where everyone fends for themselves? You can also have a variety of in between families as well. I however, am proud to say that my family is the first one mentioned. They are phenomenal beyond words and I just wanted to cred for a few minutes.

I was raised by a single mom. I say that for one of two reasons. #1 Dad was never around growing up. He was always working and doing things (i.e. working out, running, rock hunting) #2 Dad left us when I was 15 for his secretary. So therefore I was raised by a single mom, got it, okay good.....moving on. So I was raised by a single mom who was making no more than 10 dollars an hour and had 3 girls to support. While my father did provide while they were married and subsequently child support after the divorce, funny things happen, teenage and tweens require money.....and usually lots of it. Between clothes, after school and weekend activities and extra curriculars, I am not really sure how she did it.

Even if my mom made mistakes....and I am sure she did somewhere, although I have never seen the remnants of it,........she has 3 girls who turned into women who...for the most part are "normal." I for instance graduated high school, got a bachelor's of science in Elementary Ed, got married to my husband after dating for 4 years at the age of 26. My middle sister "auntie M" graduated from high school and went on to college where she graduated with a nursing degree and is now a LPN or is it RN, not sure.......who married the love of her life after dating for 5 years and recently had a son. My third sister, we call her itchy bay, graduated from high school, went to massage therapy school, she is currently managing a local spa and wants to go back to school. She has been seeing someone for awhile whom we all hope becomes part of the family soon.

Now, I am not saying that we are perfect or have the perfect life however, I am saying for single mom....she did pretty damn good! She instilled values, morals and strength in us to raise us to be the best version of ourselves.

With all that said, I would like to mention that the support and love from my mother and two sisters through the last 3 years has been nothing shy of phenomenal. When we were at our lowest, which seemed to happen more than once, they were there to help scrap us up off the pavement and give encouragement. They all lived, breathed, and lived some more for our little boy. They were our rocks and our shields in the fight. But while our hearts broke, theirs did too. They loved Keegan and Keegan loved them.

On a weekly basis my mom would drive up to Riley in Indianapolis so that Ry and I could spend one night a week together in our room at the Ronald McDonald house while she keep Keegan company in his hospital room. Most of the time she never slept a wink. Both my mom and sisters helped with fundraisers and drawing awareness to the horrible beast that is childhood cancer. They have all done so much for us and I know we can never ever come close to "repaying" them for what they have done.

But I hope this post shows what a fantastic a loving family we are blessed with. We help each other, we love each other, and we fought and now grieve together. I wouldn't trade these fantastic ladies in our life for anyone or anything.

Thank you Mom. Thank you Mary Ellen and Thank You Abby. For taking care of Ry and I when we couldn't take care of ourselves and loving Keegan and loving us despite our brokeness. Even though I might not tell you all that much, we appreciated everything you have done and will do to keep Keegan's spirit and legacy alive. We LOVE You!