I didn’t think I’d get through finals this year. My last group of finals… ever! The excitement is what carried me through every 10-20 page essay I had to write (and there were plenty). Scott and I conquered and went to California to celebrate. The celebration didn’t last too long. Mom was in more pain that I had ever seen her in. She could barely sit, talk, open her eyes; she couldn’t eat, sleep, or even breathe because of the pain. Something was really wrong. She went to the Emergency room and spent all night there. In the morning she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
It was a hard diagnosis, but relieving. They were able to put mom on the pain medication she really needed and how great it was to see mom pain free! She was back to her old self – laughing, making jokes, making friends with everyone that got within 50 feet of her hospital room! We got to take her home and the next day we got our Christmas present – Teatro Zinzanni! What a night! What a great night (what movie? What movie?)! Zinzanni’s is a small little theater on Embarcadero where you get fed a 5 COURSE MEAL with one incredible show! There are about 8 little actors and actresses who throw an incredibly entertaining show with juggling gypsies, longing love, acrobatic amazement! The show had humor and irony, sarcasm and love! It had everything! Mom bought us girls little masques and we had a blast dancing, taking pictures, and watching the show. Best Christmas present ever.
We had the most wonderful Christmas. With the diagnosis, we took advantage of this last Christmas we might have with mom. She, yet again, put together the most wonderful Christmas program. All the family was there (including uncles and grandparents) and each person had to play a role. The highlights – Jocelyn’s singing, the family choir of bells, and the Wright Family Game – no one was left out!
Mom started the Chemo Therapy just a few days later and Scott and I returned to Utah. What a welcome we got! The Smiths had a wonderful Christmas waiting for us right on our return. The love in that home was so strong and much needed as I was away from my family. We had a great New Years filled with great deserts (a specialty of the family), games, and Andrew and Maddie! What fun kids they are! We were also introduced to our new favorite game… Ticket to Ride!
A few days later we were in Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show with Johnny and Nate. We got to stay with Steph and Danny too. That means one thing to Scott, and another to me -- a whole lot of free pens for me! Scott went ahead of me, than I drove down with Laura and we all stayed with Steph! We had so much fun, including a great dinner with a cameo of Ben Stein! Buehler? Buehler? On our way back to Provo, we stopped by to see the Hoover dam.
Over Martin Luther King Weekend, all the kids made it back home to visit mom. We also got a visit from a great friend Cathy Coomber from New Jersey. Cathy helped raise us five kids while we were living there! While we were all there, Mom broke out into a fever and had to be admitted to the ICU. Never were her spirits down, never did she think of herself, she was as perfect as ever. By the time I got to visit her at the ICU she was, of course, best friends with all the nurses on the hall. Some were even coming to her with their problems. I had to selfishly kick one out so I could get in a word with my mom and she could get some rest. That’s Mom!
She stayed in the ICU for a few days, then they moved her to the Respiratory Unit. We all got to visit her as a family in the RU (instead of going one at a time), and quit often got in trouble for making too much noise! You shouldn’t expect any less of the Peers! So, we got to spend a long weekend with a lot of laughing, crying, joking, and helping, all in a hospital room. Mom made that room feel good!
She had to stay the whole week and by the time she got home, we knew she didn’t have the 4-6 months they had given her. It had been just 4 weeks and we knew she didn’t have much more time. Jessica J and I went shopping to help make the hospital bed they were moving in to our home as welcoming as possible. Babes donated her room to Mom and together with Steph rearranged the furniture to get mom right by the window. Danny miraculously (and dangerously) cleaned the windows to let in as much light as possible. Mikey and Jessica handled phone calls, dinner arrangements, and the blog letting everyone know how mom was doing. Jocelyn brought lots of fun, and Evelyn brought lots of laughs. Mom was able to come home to a beautiful house, to a beautiful room, and to a beautiful family.
She made it a few more days, until we could all make it home together again, and then passed away so peacefully. The burial and memorial services were just incredible. I have never seen so many people in one church as Mom got at her memorial. Wonderful stories were told of her humor, her strength, and of course her mischievousness. People came from all across the country to celebrate Mom’s incredible and unparalleled personality. We had wonderful moments of happiness and strength as we watched so many people come and love mom. What a sad, but motivating experience.
Mom had prepared us for that moment, and the many moments of hardship that have followed. She taught us and gave us every talent and every tool to get through this, to understand this, and to grow from this. She prepared us every day of her life and she still prepares us today. A better woman I’m not sure has ever lived. A better woman has never had as many best friends as my mom, as my best friend.
Scott and I passed this guy on the beach sculpting this image out of sand! I love artists!
Andrew was itching to get on the field and play with Jessie.
