Hey guys! Sorry for not doing a post last night, but we have been having some problems with the Wi-Fi in our room! It's all working now so I thought I should write this post before we lose our Internet again!
So yesterday my Mom and I went to the local mall here in Rochester. It was a lot smaller than the Mall of America, but there was still some good shopping! Actually, we met the sweetest lady in Herberger's (one of the major department stores). I was wanting to buy a perfume (and let me tell you we got it about $40 cheaper than we would have at home), and she was wanting to give my Mom and I the best deal possible. Not only were we saving $40, but she wanted to open an account at the store so we could get an extra 20% off! Now it would have been simple to set this account up, if we weren't from Canada. I bet you we spent about 40 minutes waiting to get this account set up. Normally, I would have just said "Forget about it", and would have paid for my stuff and left. Well, this lady wouldn't have it! She said she wanted me to have this deal, and would do whatever it takes to get it to happen. While we were waiting, she asked my Mom if I was her sister or her daughter!!! My Mom looked a little confused and said.... "I'm her mother." The lady looked shocked, and said "No way! You look way to young to be a mother!" Also, while we were waiting she asked us why we were in Rochester, and when we said I was here for the Mayo Clinic her face fell. She immediately said she was "so sorry to hear that." and that it was unfortunate that I had to go through all of the tests and whatnot. FINALLY, after about 40 minutes of waiting and waiting, our account was finally set up. She felt so bad about keeping us, that she gave us about $100 or more worth of free gifts! And when my Mom and I were about to leave she came out from behind the counter and gave both of us a hug! You sure don't see that too often.... people being kind and compassionate. I've found that down here in Rochester, everyone is really understanding and caring! We have met so many kind and genuine people, and I am really grateful for this experience.
Today I finished reading the novel Letters to God. It was such a moving, emotional book! It was basically about the story of a young 11 year old boy who had a rare form of brain cancer. As his method of coping, he wrote letters to God. In these letters, he asked questions about why he was sick, asked God to take care of his family and other simple things like help his best friend cope with his death. This book is starting to make me realize that life is short and that we have to enjoy every minute that we have. The book says that people tend to take the simple things in life for granted. I've seen so many sick kids, and I'm beginning to realize that I am lucky that my NF isn't as bad as it could be. I've heard horror stories about kids with NF, and I am nowhere as sick as some of these kids.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an inspiring message, but I would make sure to have a box of Kleenex nearby, it's a real tear jerker!