Just the Thing to Make Life Worth
Living
After Surviving Cancer, Woman Follows Her Dream
When Mary Schindel first found out
she had leukemia, she took it hard. After all, she was at the top of her
game. Happy marriage, great kids, good job—what more could a
50-something woman want? She had everything she needed to be happy.
Or did she? For years, an undercurrent of longing, a “dream deferred,”
lingered in her thoughts. And what happens to a “dream deferred”? Poet
Langston Hughes suggests that a stifled dream dries up like “a raisin in
the sun,” or “sags like a heavy load” or possibly “explodes.”
Ironically, cancer became the impetus that would help Mary turn her
dreams into a reality.
“Cancer,” claims Schindel, an attractive woman with closely cropped
salt-and-pepper hair, “gives you an unbelievable positive attitude
towards life. When you come face to face with death you learn not to
sweat the little stuff. You realize how important it is to do what you
really want to do. Not just exist for the sake of everyone else.”
Leukemia Attacks
Married for almost 21 years, Schindel has four children: Conner, 18;
Rory, 16; Neil, 14; and Bridget, 12. She moved to Chester 17 years ago,
where she became administrative assistant for Reynolds Metal. From
there, she worked for the vice-president of advertising at Hecht’s, and
then three years ago she took a job as manager of Stein Mart near the
Commonwealth Centre in Chesterfield.
All was well in her life until early 2006, when she became sick with
leukemia. She spent 120 days in the hospital and had a bone marrow
transplant. After one and a half years of chemotherapy, her cancer went
into full remission.
While in the hospital, Schindel decided her room was too dismal, so she
invited friends and family to help her decorate. She replaced the
utilitarian spread with a beautiful coverlet, hung fancy curtains,
covered her mattress with soft and feminine bedding, and brought in
comfortable furniture.
A Supportive Family
“During my stay in the hospital, each of my siblings took a week to
watch my children. They come from all over—Denver, Maine and Alabama. My
sister Maureen lives here in Richmond and she visited me almost every
day.” Schindel says her husband, children, parents and in-laws also were
very supportive. “I have such a wonderful family. They helped me stay
positive.”
She made a good friend during her hospital stay. “Carol and I had rooms
next to each other and we became close right away. We were nothing
alike, except we both had cancer.”
Carol is “rough and ready, a softball coach,” while Mary is very
“girlie,” according to Schindel’s mother, Catherine Dubus. Yet, they
shaved their heads together and both decorated their rooms. Mary’s room
was all “girlie-girl”; Carol decorated her room as a tiki bar.
“We helped each other through the rough parts, and we laughed a lot,”
says Schindel. “You have to keep a positive attitude and have some fun.
That’s the best way to get through it.”
Thankfully, Carol’s cancer also is in remission.
Facing Mortality
During her chemotherapy, Schindel continued to work, raise a family,
co-chair the Chester Cotillion and remain involved in the Chester
Woman’s Club.
Because the cancer forced her to face her own mortality, she decided
life was too short not to follow her lifelong dream of opening up a gift
and accessory store.
“Cancer taught me to take charge of my life,” she says. Before cancer,
fear of the unknown kept her from acting upon her dream. She was afraid
of losing her investments and didn’t know what the impact of owning a
business would have on her children.
But after watching her children rally around her during her bout with
cancer, and after struggling with and overcoming a life-threatening
illness, her fears dissipated.
Just the Thing
She found a small building in Chester, and again, family and friends
helped Schindel get the store ready by painting walls and donating
furniture.
Finally, on September 8, 2007, she opened Just the Thing, a novelty
store selling whimsy, accessories, sterling silver jewelry and gift
items. “I only put in the store what I like. And I think that’s why it’s
been a success. I’m really blessed.” Her 76-year-old mother volunteers
at the store, and according to Schindel, they have a great time
together.
Vicky Cheatham, a friend of 17 years, believes Schindel is a testimony
to the strength of women everywhere. “Whether her role is wife, mom,
friend, volunteer, patient, co-worker, entrepreneur, and the list goes
on, Mary conducts herself on every level with undying commitment and
enthusiasm,” Cheatham says. “She is a woman I greatly admire and one
whom I am truly blessed to call my friend.”
Schindel never questioned her ability to get through the bone marrow
transplant or chemotherapy. She never wondered, “Why me?”
“I’m glad it was me, and not my children, or my brothers or sisters. I
knew I could handle it.” Schindel continues to handle life with
strength, determination, love and laughter. As the quote above her
store’s cash register says, “She…took the leap and built her wings on
the way down.”
A former language-arts teacher, Chesterfield
resident Diane Lang writes fiction, nonfiction and screenplays.
www.langbuchanan.com.
