Today Whymommy is in surgery to remove the aggressive cancer she discovered last year.  

Years ago when Susan and WonderDaddy married, my mom cut out their wedding announcement then taped it to the fridge for me to see the next time I visited.  (For those who don’t know, WonderDaddy and I grew up in the same small town and were in the same grade school class — a class comprised of 26 kids. So when a former classmate has a baby or gets married, I usually find out through mom.)

I remember stopping by the fridge when I caught a glimpse of a familiar last name. I remember reading the write-up then taking a minute to examine the black and white photo.  While the couple’s picture was small, it was obvious that the love and happiness felt by the two was vast and deep. I remember seeing an enormous amount of pride in WonderDaddy’s eyes and thinking, “she must be an incredible woman to have captured his heart like that!”

I never thought I’d get a chance to get to know this bride with the beautiful smile. But I did, as have many others.  Susan has managed to give so many of us a precious gift while she battles cancer. Time and time again, she’s given us a glimpse into who she is. She’s given us the gift of perspective, wisdom, hope and humor. Time and time again, I think of my old classmate and can understand how he fell so very head-over-heels in love.

Thank you Canape for inspiring me (as well as a bunch of other women) to write about Susan on this day.