When my mother was diagnosed with leukemia in July of 2006, no one believed she was going to die from it. No one. Even the doctor was "guardedly optomistic". They put her on a very promising new chemo drug and she was responding well. It was a few days before Halloween of that year when my brother Christopher came up with an idea. He said that just in case this was the last Halloween Mom was alive, we should all surprise her by taking the grandkids and great-grandkids to Malad dressed in their Halloween costumes so she could see them. He knew she would love that and so did we. We all loved the idea and decided to have it be a surprise. And even though we all knew she had many Halloweens to spend with us, it would be fun, none-the-less.
So, we dressed the kids early, piled in cars and set out for a little surprise. My kids and grandkids were the first to arrive. We got to Malad at 4:00-ish and rang the doorbell. The kids yelled, "Trick or Treat!" and my mom about fell out of her chair for surprise! We came in and visited for awhile and then left. Julie and kids came and did the same thing, rang the doorbell and yelled, "Trick or Treat", completely surprising her again then stayed and visited for awhile. Once again, the doorbell rang and there was Chris, Michelle and kids repeating the surprise. It was such a fun night and she was genuinely surprised and excited to see everyone! She mentioned that it was one of the best surprises she had ever had! Oh, and Dad was just as surprised because we didn't tell him either:) Jason coordinated it all to make sure they were both there by 4:00!
I have thought back on that Halloween night for the past two Halloweens and have been so grateful that Christopher made the suggestion to surprise her. And I am grateful that my kids, and siblings, and nieces and nephews made the sacrifice to go to Malad to surprise their grandma. It turned out to be the last Halloween we had with her afterall...and Christopher came up with an idea that gave all of us that live close by, a chance to express our love to her again. Now each Halloween, we all have a wonderful memory of a Halloween when we saw my mom's genuinely surprised face and loving smile and felt her arms around us again.
Thanks, Chris.
4 comments:
That one brought a tear to my eye. I may have heard you guys did this, and forgot. I am sure Mom was so excited, as she loves Halloween and she loves her grandchildren. Amen on the gratitude to Chris and Jason for making this work. We have the best little brothers.
I remember this...I didnt go but I remember everyone saying how excited Grandma was.
I, too, remember clearly how excited she (and grandpa) were. I am SOOOO glad we have that memory, and that picture. I LOVE it. And I miss her TERRIBLY.
Thank you for sharing that memory. Seeing those pictures brought back the memories we have and how much I miss her.
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