I don’t know how to describe it. I can’t tell you how much of a whirlwind it was. It was not exhilarating. There were a few adventures, but not as adventurous as others were. It was unlike any summer yet.

Most kids have zero stress throughout the duration of the three months they call their own. But before I walked out of the building for the last time to take hold of my “three months”, my summer stress had began. The stress and anxiety began to engulf me. I was drowning.  

As I walked into my house that day, I was welcomed by my grandma, grandpa and my family. All I remember saying on that last day of school is “Where is mom?” And all I remember hearing is, “She’s in bed, honey. She had a bad day.”

Just weeks before, I was calling into work, and spending my time after school at the hospital.

I made friends with the lady at the front desk, the lady in the cafeteria, as well as, the nurses and doctors. I found all the nooks and crannys that you probably aren’t supposed to find in a hospital, but I did anyway. This is all because you get bored just sitting in the same room for hours. So I explored and found the emergency room, found the fastest way from the parking garage to my mom’s room on the fourth floor neurology unit, and I encountered one of those couples fights where they are screaming and yelling at eachother in the middle of a hospital hallway. It was terrifying. But I needed something to distract me from the stress and anxiety of not knowing what was wrong with my mom.

The day she was admitted, my grandma and aunt flew across the country to take care of my sister and I, and for my mom, her being the biggest reason. They stayed for two weeks, flew back out west, and then 3 weeks later, my grandma and grandpa drove back to stay for another month. This was all in the name of taking care of my mother. For the next month, we were trying medicines that the doctors suggested, however, she remained undiagnosed for months.

So as you can see, my summer wasn’t full of adventures you would usually see a senior in high school having. It was full of emotional and mental adventures with obstacles you wouldn’t believe. It was exhilarating. Not in a roller coaster/theme park/ let’s break in somewhere at night kind of way. But in a way, that urged me to find out who I really was and I loved every minute of it.  

This was a summer of soul searching and learning how much time you actually have with the people you care about most and how to cherish it, even when they are healthy again. So love them. Go to movies with them. Ride bikes with them. Believe me, you are not too cool for it when you find out that they are in the hospital, undiagnosed, and have the doctors stumped. No one is too cool to spend time with their family. Do it, spend time with them, and enjoy every minute of their company.
You will cherish that time when none is left…