In an attempt to get Goo to eat anything, ever, I have basically instituted an open menu policy with her: Tell me what you will eat willingly, and I’ll make it happen. Please note that I hate this with the fire of a thousand suns, as I have never, ever, let my kids regularly run the show at home. You either eat dinner, or you go hungry. There are compromises in there which I will share at some point, but that’s another post.
Sunday, Goo requested cheese pizza. Not only does she happily eat this, but it has tons of calories and protein from the cheese, so these days it’s basically the mecca of foods for her because she’s always been so dang skinny, and that’s bad when you’re on chemotherapy.
The Nerd and I packed up the kids after church and headed to a local restaurant with really yummy pizza and tasty bruschetta – my favorite appetizer ever. Our waitress was good. Very polite. Beautiful young girl with bright blonde hair that she wore in a short, sassy hairstyle. You’ll understand why I noticed this in a bit.
We ordered, ate our food, and waited for her to come back to pack up the leftovers and bring us our bill. Then this happened:
Waitress: Are you guys ready to wrap?
Me: Yes we are:
Waitress, looking at bald Goo: You rock that hairdo much better than I did last year.
Nerd: Did you cut it, or were you undergoing treatment?
Waitress: I was undergoing treatment, and now I’m done. You’ll see. It flies by and it’s over before you know it.
Me: (Silently tearing up. A few minutes go by and she returns with our box).
Waitress: You guys are all set. Lunch is on me.
The Nerd and I were both in awe. I wish I had taken her picture, because after that, I’m fairly certain she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. There is something about knowing that these warriors overcame the very enemy that Goo is fighting that makes them more beautiful. At least to me.
She saved us some money, yes. But she gave me something much greater: hope. Hope in seeing that for all the heaviness and fear that the word, “cancer,” carries with it, there is always someone conquering it. Always someone saying, “I fought you, and I won.” I looked at her and caught a glimpse of Anneliese in a year – with a bright smile, a bounce in her step, and a warrior status that no one can ever take away.
She may just have to rock that short, sassy hairstyle, too.
