We have had a fun weekend together so far. Friday morning started out with dentist appointments that I kept because I figured it was much easier to just deal with them now then try and reschedule them in the chaos that will soon become our lives. Plus, it was supposed to be Cade’s first teeth cleaning, and I really wanted them to clean him if he’d allow it before he starts the chemo because we keep hearing how several of the chemo meds, will most likely than not, cause mouth sores 😔 Ry was a trooper! He had to get xray’s for the first time, which he did not appreciate, but did great with nonetheless. Dr Hardy could see a few of his 6 year molars as well as some adult teeth growing. He thought this was cool to see on the screen. And his bottom front teeth are slightly loose! Not surprised. They were early to get them and I always figured they’d be early to lose them as well. With the help of my mother in law, and many prizes from the treasure chest, Cade was able to get his teeth looked at and cleaned at the same time as Ry and actually allowed them to do it. I was so happy.
I came home Friday afternoon to find a pile of the awesome shirts that my incredible friend Amanda had done for us as an absolutely adorable fundraiser for Cade. These shirts ROCK! And they do because they have a sentimental story behind them. I remember the day she told me about an “idea” she had and she was gonna just surprise me with it, but asked me if I wanted to know what it was. She went on to tell me she was having t-shirts made in support of Cade and she had a memory that was very fond in her mind and heart about my boys. Anyone who knows me, knows I don’t care for heavy metal. Chris is the opposite. So since Ry was like 2, he’s asked me to listen to Beastie Boys. That was totally fine. Tolerable. Then as Cade came along, they both became obsessed with Beastie Boys as well as other things they’d start requesting when they got in my car like Slipknot and Metallica. I always would say “ummm, no. We do not listen to that music in mommy’s car. That’s daddy music.” It then became a joke almost, how much Chris could get them to love the music I hated. They’d play it sometimes when we were all cleaning the house or playing around and the boys would throw up the “devil horns” as they call them and jump around. I have a video of Rylan doing this as spit and drool is flying out of his mouth while he explains to me what those are called and why you make them. It’s one of my favorite videos. Amanda remembered all of this and it cracks her up too, so she said that she envisioned the devil horns hand symbol with the words “Cades Cancer Slayers” for the T-shirt logo. I started crying. Then she yelled at me to stop because she’d start crying. A few days later she took me out to dinner and showed me one of the preview images she had received from the shop and we talked more about it. She wasn’t sure if it was ok or if it was a stupid idea and if we hated it we could totally do something else. I loved it. Later that night I remember getting a text from her.
It said this:
So I just looked up what the meaning of rock and roll hand gestures are…and literally it said that the “horns” each symbolize strength and aggressiveness, the power and dignity of the divinity, and horned Gods usually represent warriors. Any doubt I had about the shirts is gone.
I remember reading this and just crying. I’m tearing up as I read it again now to type it here. How amazing and perfect that definition was. How incredibly fitting it is for this fight that my sweet Cade is about to embrace. And he is going to embrace it as he has since the night we entered those doors at Lutheran. With strength and aggressiveness. Because he is a WARRIOR. He is our warrior and he is going to win his battle!
Amanda posted today on FB about the shirts being for sale with some pictures that I managed to get of the boys wearing theirs. This was an exhausting effort by the way. Thirty-some pictures later and I managed to get a few usable ones. I envy all those people that post all these adorable pictures of their children together cooperating and smiling. I think I have a total of five of the two of my boys together, both actually smiling, both sets of eyes open at the same time. Five is probably actually being generous. Haha. The amount of love we have received from people buying these shirts, wanting to wear them, excited to wear them and show support for Cade. It has been absolutely heartwarming today. There are so many people that want them, that she told me she will be placing a re-order next week. I don’t even know what else to say but thank you. Thank you so much! Although Cade may not fully understand the meaning behind it, it means the world to us!! I can’t wait to see all the pictures so please be sure to take pictures wearing them and post them with #caringforcade
We spent our morning today taking the boys on their very first train ride. We have been talking about this for what seems like forever now. And we figured, we needed to do it now or never. If we didn’t do it now, who knows how long it would be before Cade would be healthy enough that I would be willing to risk him getting on a Metra train. We figured the adventure was more about the train than what we actually did, so we took the train from Fox Lake to Libertyville. Walked to Starbucks and got some coffee and hot chocolates (and cake pops…it was a special trip) and then headed back to the train to catch the next one back to Fox Lake. It was a perfect little trip and they had a blast. Then we spent the afternoon with my sister and her family playing outside and relaxing together. With quick surprise visits from Grammie and Aunt Audrey as well as a couple of my girlfriends (thank you girls again for dinner!!) It was a fun day for everyone. Cade got to skip nap because I figured the poor kid is going to be stuck in his hospital room for days on end in just a couple more days. Why not let him enjoy as much of the outdoors and playtime as he possibly can until then. And he definitely did. ❤️
Our Warrior Journey 