Having my mother cry in my arms that day made me feel, for the first time in my life, that I wanted to trade places with someone. I would have taken the cancer that day in a heartbeat. Give it to me now, Lord, was a thought that raced through my mind. I wanted her to be the healthy one and not me. I envisioned her looking down at me on the couch instead of me staring at her. I wished I could have lifted the massive, weighty cross off her back that she was destined to carry. My heart was heavy as I thought about how much she looked forward to the day that I would meet someone and settle down. It has been 20 years since the last wedding of one of her daughters. Summers had come and gone, and now this was to be the big one. The summer of 2001 was to be her summer. She was excited and looking forward to the wedding, her 50th anniversary party, and the riverboat cruise. Why this summer of all summers would she get sick? - Margaret Hofmann, Author of The Wedding Gift