Update on my sister, Tonya

It was my first week at a new school and to say I needed a weekend was quite an understatement.  I needed more than a weekend, I needed a Tonya fix. The boys and I packed up and headed to the farm to see her and the girls.

Tonya mentioned that she went ahead and shaved her head. It was falling out in pieces making it hard for her to be in the kitchen around food. There's not much she can control right now, but she does control when she loses her hair, NOT cancer. 

On the way out there, I decided I better prepare Nolan for Aunt Tonya being bald. So I told him that since she's sick she is going to lose her hair, but it will grow back and she's still the same Aunt Tonya. He quietly asks, "Is her name still Tonya? Did her voice change?" So in his 4-year-old brain, he was convinced either Tonya was a man, since men are the only people he's seen bald, or that she went through some sex change operation. Yikes, not a conversation to be had with a 4 year old. I just love how he can make something that's serious and challenging us and make it funny.

So Tonya was struttin' her 'do and striking a pose. It was hard not seeing her with her hair. That same gorgeous thick hair that could probably make 5 wigs, she had so much of it. But hair doesn't define her, just like this cancer doesn't.

"Once you've had chemotherapy, there's no such thing as a bad-hair day." author unknown

Tonya had put on a roast and long story short that roast was AWFUL! I mean, you needed to get your sharpest canines out to chew up that meat. Her carrots were hard and even the mashed potatoes were lumpy. And I'm only saying that because Tonya is a really good cook, but bless her heart she just had an off day or her oven did! Don't believe me, here's Avery working up enough courage if she wants to dive in a try the mystery meat!

 

If you don't remember what Tonya's hair did look like just look at her girls. They were blessed with that gene from her and suddenly, I got an idea. These girls have enough hair they could just give their mom half of it and still look like they just got a trim. So I had the girls "loan" their mom some hair just for our pic and this one especially looks just like her hair did.

After our pic, we tried to pep talk our stomachs to try the meat but once we saw Madison "chewing" on the mashed potatoes, we erupted into laughter. Next words out of my mouth?

"Who wants pizza?"

And I've never seen five kids load up in my van that quick.

Laughter is truly the best medicine.