green beans and chemo

There was a knock at the door just after eleven pm. 
Mom's friend was standing there with a pail of green beans.  Perhaps I had woken up in a Barbara Kingsolver Animal, Vegetable, Miracle nightmare...

I knew that mom was exhausted last year when she didn't mind leaving her garden behind.  Her new place had no garden plot, and no patch of dirt in which to plant things.  She didn't care.

This summer was a different story.  She wanted to know what could survive in the 4 inch wide patch of gravel between her outer wall and the sidewalk.  There are now three hanging baskets, two coleus, two impatience, and some summer savory thriving in pots just outside the door.  She planted a garden with a friend who has a larger patch of earth.  Just a few green beans, carrots, one sweet million tomatoe plant, one potatoe plant and green onions.  It's the "just a few green beans" that kept me up late.  Beans have an amazing capacity to over produce. 

I deliberated, pail in hand, for only a few seconds.  Mom and her friend had discussed this pail.  Mom could have this one, and her friend could take the next one.  I had told her I could freeze them for her, but had forgotten about them in the midst of the rather unpleasant preparation for Mom's first day of chemo.  Couldn't remember exactly how long to blanche them - didn't have my books, had no internet access, and Mom wasn't available just then with her wealth of green bean wisdom. 

So I sat down, snipped off the ends, chopped them up, and put them into a pot of boiling water. Blanched them for about one minute ... I think that was a little on the short side.  Bagged them, and put them into Mom's freezer. 

The next day Mom was facing down the monster - pain had gotten out of hand during the night, and the medical team was assessing whether she had the strength for this struggle.  "Do we go ahead with the treatment?" her doctor asked.  Her chin tucked in a bit, mouth tightened into a line, eyebrows up, determination to go ahead with this unpleasant thing shone through tired eyes.  It was a look that reminded me of days long ago when she was telling me to eat my green beans.  So what if you don't like it.  It's good for you, so eat it.  

"Yes.  We go ahead."