Mysteries

I can see how many people each day open the links for each of my blog posts. I CAN'T see WHO is reading my posts though. But there is one post that has been extremely popular since March. I wrote it last May and it's called "A Cancer Story". It's link has been open 5,722 times (as this is being written) total but it was read more when it was the newest post. It's a real mystery to me. There are so many other stories all over of people who lost someone to Cancer or who survived Cancer. It mentions loved ones I lost to Cancer but it's not the same as losing a parent or sibling. What did I say that people needed to hear?

http://homewithmommy-fran.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-cancer-story.html

Maybe what makes it special is because it's simple. I offer a prayer for those who have lost a loved one as well as to those who are survivors. I acknowledge how great survivor stories are but how painful it must be for families who have lost a loved one to read those stories.

I hope it's making a difference. I hope Cancer survivors appreciate how happy I am for their cure and my prayers for continued remission. I hope those who have lost a loved one to Cancer appreciate that I pray for them and wish I could give them a hug of support. I understand that all I can offer is a hug and my ears.

All over the internet are things you should and shouldn't say to various people or do. But there isn't anything you CAN say to those who have survived something this serious or lost someone to something this serious. You can listen, offer hugs, and offer to help with chores. But there aren't any words that can make everything all better. We WANT to make everything all better. Sometimes, that's simply not possible. Sometimes, what someone really needs is for people to understand that they CAN'T make things better but they can offer comfort. Comfort helps.

The popularity of that post is one mystery that will probably never be solved. That goes along with the "magically appearing" products from when I worked at a store. I had closed the store one night and opened it the next morning. It was a small enough store that I knew everything we carried and exactly how every section looked after closing that night. But when I opened the next morning there were products in the Art aisle that were DEFINITELY not there at closing. They had our company's name on them but I had never seen them before. That's because they had been discontinued long before I started working there.

I was a Shift Supervisor at the time and asked the Manager who claimed not to know what happened. Over the course of a couple of weeks this kept happening. That one aisle was the farthest from the door and the registers. That location is now our favorite pizza place. I told the owner about the appearing products and joked about if it was still happening. Sometimes the store Manager had paperwork to finish. I suspect he was sneaking them in just to mess with my head. People like messing with my head. I don't know why. I don't know where he got the products from but he may have found a box buried somewhere in the storage room.

I don't know if that blog post will continue to be popular but I hope it is. I hope it's helping. At the time, Heather said that she thought this would be a good place for it. I didn't think my blog was popular enough to make a real difference but I wanted to do anything I could to help. I have since done other posts about Heather and Mesothelioma. Those posts aren't being read. So the draw isn't about Heather's story. Either way, I hope it's popularity is leading to donations for ALL types of Cancer. In the meantime, I offer my support and prayers..............and maybe a 25 year old chalkboard eraser.