Mom's Longing For "Ordinary Days" After Losing Her Son to Cancer Will Change Your Perspective on the Mundane

Heather Duckworth didn't realize that she was in a season of "good old days" until her world turned upside down in an instant when her son was diagnosed with cancer. In the days following her son's diagnosis, Heather spent long nights in the hospital with him, away from her three other kids, longing for the "ordinary days" — the normal, mundane days that made up her "old life."

Although Heather looks back now on the days of taking care of her son as a privilege, the mom penned a poignant piece reflecting on those ordinary days of her family's life before her son passed away, and her words will make you hold tight to the mundane routines we're all guilty of complaining about and taking for granted.

"Before my son got sick, the days were long and busy. And they felt so monotonous . . . take care of kids, fix meals, pick up kids, clean up, play time, wash clothes, read stories, repeat," she wrote on her Facebook page, Love, Faith & Chaos. "My husband and I were barely surviving with four young boys running us ragged. I never thought of those days as special. They were hard and exhausting. But after my son got sick, I realized what a gift those ordinary days really are. And I missed them so much. So, whenever I start to feel overwhelmed with the busyness or bored with the mundane days of life, my heart reminds me to be thankful. And the memories flow through my mind, changing my perspective and reminding me to . . . slow down. Celebrate each day. Be thankful. Live intentionally. Choose joy. Laugh often. Love Big."

Since losing her son, Heather has been unable to look at an ordinary day in the same way. "Ordinary days are a treasured gift . . . yet so often we don't even realize it . . . until they are gone. Those normal days mean you are living and loving and growing," she wrote. "Those normal, mundane days mean life is good. It means everyone is healthy. It means all is well. It means we are showing up, trying our best and loving boldly. And those ordinary days add up to a life full of wonderful memories with the ones we love. And that is pretty extraordinary!"