Claire Shea
March 6, 2017
My mom, like a lot of women, was someone who watched her weight her entire life. When I was in second grade, she had a seizure on the steps of the courthouse downtown and discovered that she had an aggressive, inoperable, brain tumor. She immediately started chemotherapy and, unfortunately, gained all of the nasty side effects of the treatment. So, she made a promise — once she regained her strength (and appetite!), she would eat an entire coconut cream pie; her absolute favorite dessert. Life is too short to diet, right?
Yet, 7 months after her seizure, my mom passed away. When I went to college and met my best friend, I told her this story and since that day, she has helped me mourn and celebrate the life of my mom. Therefore, since that fateful friendship began in college, I have a group of friends that celebrates my mom on May 6 of every year by indulging in an overly decadent dessert. Sometimes the way we mourn those that we love can be in small ways that gradually teach us to look differently at large things in life.