THURSDAY THOUGHTS - Fox Hole Buddies

This week has been one of the most difficult yet most memorable weeks of my life. I have been
in Ivins, Utah at the home of my parents with our family to spend our last moments with my mother. She has suffered for many years with Multiple Myeloma (Cancer of the bone marrow) and she is very near death. The disease has taken a once vibrant and healthy woman down to almost nothing. Mother always wanted to be thin and she had tried her entire life to achieve that goal. Cancer has taken her beyond thin to emaciated. As we gathered around around the hospital bed in her home I sensed an incredible unity in our family. I was among the best fox hole buddies that could be found anywhere in the world.

Fox hole buddies don't care what you look like; They don't care how much money you have; They don't care how much you weigh or how you dress; They don't care what your differneces are; They don't care how big your house is or where you live; Our foxhole was different than most others. We were all together in a 1200 square foot home which my brother affectionately named "The Command Post." From this base we kept all members of our forces connected and updated on what we came to call "Operation Linger."

Most foxholes fight against enemies such as bullets, bombs and other forms of artillery. We had one enemy plain and simple and that was PAIN. Our weapons were morphine (pill and liquid form), Lortab,and Lorazapam(liquid and pills). We were dressed better than the rag tag armies in the Civil War, but our forces stood united and strong with prayer, strong faith and unified love for our mother. I am sure that we ate better than any one in any foxholes I have ever heard of. Daddy's snack counter expanded and retreated according to the number of our forces who were present. During the weekend we were all together we had ample supplies of Crunch and Munch, Cheetos, Fritos, Pecan Sandies, licorice, almonds, snack crackers, trailmix, and most importantly an endless supply of Coke Classic in the fridge. After all, members of any command post must be well nourished right?

Fox hole buddies "have your back." When one is tired or not at his best, another stands up to take his place. We had enough of us to do that for each other. Some of us had to get back to our jobs, so others came to replace them when they had to leave. Throughout this entire experience our forces remained strong, making sure that Daddy didn't have to face the end alone. After 61 years of marriage, we knew the end would be more difficult for him than for any of us.

As write this entry, it is my 59th birthday and the battle is still going on. I don't know when it will end, although for our mother's sake, we hope it will be soon. However, this has been one of the sweetest and most bonding experiences of my entire life. How therapeutic it is has been to put away past differences and to unite in the most noble of all missions....to send our mother on to the next life with no regrets. I feel that the most important Commander of all is looking down on us with a big smile.

Kathy Christensen
Survivor
Member of Lifting Hearts

**Our hearts and prayers are with Kathy and her family at this time. Kathy - thanks so much for your dedication to us and this blog, for sharing your personal thoughts, and allowing us a glimpse of your wonderful life. We love you.

-Lifting Hearts Members