When I was in the sixth grade, my mom was told some news that would impact our whole family--she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, she was able to undergo chemotherapy to hopefully get rid of it and go back to living life normally. But even with that brighter side, the news turned our worlds upside down and for me to be so young, I truly learned so much from watching her battle such a terrible disease. When I think back to what I watched you go through, a few things come to mind...

You never let it take your spirit.

You always tried your hardest to keep a smile on your face. Whether it was for yourself, or for me and my brother, you always made sure that we didn't see just how much it was impacting you. I'm sure you had days where all you wanted to do was cry, but you did everything you could to do otherwise. (You may have cried, but you sure didn't let anyone see it.)

You were still the best, most supportive, loving parent you could be.

You still helped with homework, still at every softball game, every awards banquet, and still loved your family and friends as unconditionally as your heart would let you. You were never bitter, never angry... Always loving just like you were before and after you were diagnosed. If only the rest of the world could be like that.

Instead of waiting for the rainbow, you learned to dance in the rain.

You loved life to the fullest even with your situation not being the easiest thing to face everyday. You went about your life as normally as you could. Having cancer gave you a whole new look on life and you cherished every moment you had even with the rainy days.

You found any and every bright side that you possibly could.

Whether it was your last treatment coming up, or your hair coming back and you getting the whole two inches dyed, you always tried to find something to get a little excited about. Without even realizing it, you were glowing the whole time. (Even on the days where the battle was a lot for your body and mind to handle.)

You always trusted in God's plan.

Not once did we stop going to church, stop praying for you to be healed, or stop trusting that God knew what he was doing. With either a wig or a hat, you were in those pews, singing songs of praise, listening to God's word and never losing your faith in Him. Sure chemo works, but we know the real healer of your disease.

For me, these are all valuable things that I learned. They can be used in everyday life, whether its dealing with sickness or just having to face life's curveballs. I know that cancer was one of the hardest things you ever went through, but I can't thank you enough for being such a positive inspiration on my life day in and day out and teaching me these life lessons while you faced cancer head on. And I am so happy, and blessed, to say that my mom has been cancer free for nine years now. While some of your parents may have not been so fortunate, I'm sure they also taught you these lessons and you use them in your everyday life, making them more proud than ever. Cancer sucks.