The greatest gift our parents ever gave us was one another!
I was lucky enough to be the fifth of seven children raised in the MacArthur family. We may be getting older, but as brothers and sisters we know each other's past and each others hearts. We understand each other’s dreams, losses, challenges, and successes.
Throughout our journey together, we have had many wonderful opportunities to celebrate each other's successes and special occasions. Our parents joined us for many of these celebrations and we continue them in their passing.
Unfortunately, the reality is that we must support each other to meet the challenges we face in this life. It is not easy and we feel their pain and loss. We want to take away their pain, but this is not always possible. The most important thing we can do is be there for one another.
I am the first sibling to suffer from cancer and hopefully the last. My siblings rallied around me and joined me for wig shopping, "Say Yes to the Wig," offered me a place to stay for oncology appointments, called me regularly to check in, and let me know they were just a phone call away. After treatment, they celebrated me as a breast cancer survivor.
4.5 years later, I asked my oncologist how to tell my siblings that the cancer had returned and was incurable. He told me to let them know that I would continue to live with medication, a healthy lifestyle, and my positive attitude.
I invited them to join me in my optimism believing I will continue to live and join them in our senior years of life. No surprise, they came together again and put aside their fears to surround me with hope and love. So today, on Siblings Day 2024, I give thanks for the six blessings I call my brothers and sisters.
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