When July is over and Augst begins I start feeling very warm inside, it notifies my souls that my favorite season is on its way and that my favorite holiday is coming up. I really love fall and even more so I love October. Fall brings weather that makes being at home even more craved than ever, picture this your at work looking out of your office window and its a little cloudy and it begins to rain and turns into sleet. Its lunch time and you didnt bring your lunch or your jacket and now you have to go out into the chilly weather and get wet while your filling your belly to complete a days work. Its inevitable that this weather kicks off you starting to desire your bed more than you have all year long, and crave that delicious bowl of hearty chilli. Yep you cant tell me Im wrong because Im human and I have felt all those feelings all too well.
However a few years ago October took on a whole new meaning for me and my future. I remember talking to my mom and her telling me that a very good family friend had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. I was in total disbelief how could this be true, we just was her and she didnt look sick, or act sick. As time went on we realized that it may have been possible she hadnt gone for a mamogram in a while and this ugly monster had crept in an invaded her beautiful body unknowingly trying to rob her of her life, an many blessings and open doors that awaited her. As I pondered the Whys?? and Hows??? of this news I immediately realized that I could not google her a quick cure or ever offer enough Im sorrys, kisses or hugs or words of encouragement to lift her spirits. I added her to my prayers but wanted to do more physically and emotionally.
During my life ive never been a gym rat or been excited about sweating till I was about to faint, but i had started a simple workout regime. Running .... well maybe more like a fast paced jog, with lots of brisk walking, and maybe a day or two of weights...hand weights that is. The gym I went to had advertised Race for the Cure for breast cancer 5k, i first had to do the math to find out how far that was and how to sign up. After doing some research I got all the information I needed and added registering for the Cure 5k on my list of to dos for the week. When saturday came I was up an at it, gone to register an do my workout just a little harder to prepare for my upcoming race.
About a week before the race a friend asks me "why are you doing the run?" I was a little offended but realized she wasnt me neither did she know our friend who had been diagnosed. My answer to her was Im running the race for those who are too weak to run and are in a daily race that will take longer than 3.1 miles to the finish line to find a cure and get their lives back, and lastly im running for those whose lives ended before they got to the finish line. There was silence for a moment and I wasnt sure if she had fallen asleep during my long answer or she had hung up, "are you there?" i asked "yes im here." she replied Im just so moved by what your doing, my father has throat cancer and i dont do talk to him because im angry due to family issues." I went on to tell her that what im doing is not enough compared to what these women with breast cancer who are my sisters really need.
The day of the race came, its my first race and its early and even worse its cold forty five degrees, my body was craving the bed and I wanted hot chocolate, neither were anywhere in sight, but i didnt care all of my petty complaints could be cured but the reason im at this race is still in search for its cure. I followed the crowd and we counted down to the beginning of the race. Ive never seen so much pink in my life it was so beautiful, I guess thats why the ribbon color is pink because these are beautiful women being stricken with such an ugly disease. Upon finishing the race I knew that I wanted this to be a yearly tradition a way for me to connect with my sisters whom I know are going thru a battle a will never meet.
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