I Can Fit It All Into an Easy Sunday... - August 12, 2012

"Lift up your head princess, if not the crown falls."

Sunday morning has come with some unexpected extra energy. I wake early and stay in bed flipping channels. My tv is almost always on in the house. I grew up watching or listening to the tv and have continued my efforts at this age. Often it is on mute, but it is still always on. Even the cats get the benefit of the tv when I am out and a bout. Sunday mornings do not offer the best viewing options...church services, repeats of the news, black and white westerns, infomercials until late in the day...I've already seen most of these while flipping channels at 2 AM. Not even my beloved "Murder, She Wrote" or "Law & Order" are playing today. And the Olympics are coming to a close. So, I decide to attend the ACS Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event in Bolingbrook at the Promenade...combine work, shopping and a beautiful day...Ok, I'm sold!

I thought the event started a little later than it did, so I arrived when the walkers had just started. It is a first year event in a great location. It has so much potential and it is well branded with a little over one hundred people in attendance. I go to the main staging area and visit with Chris, Jackson, Sarah and Sydney. Some of my Work WE and their little people...well, Sydney is taller than her Mom, so I guess they aren't that little anymore. Then comes Karli, Jason and their cutie Claire. Karli and I work on the same team, but I've never had the opportunity to meet her family. Claire is exactly what I had pictured in mind...she's just like her Momma! Spunky, full of energy, dressed as cute as can be, and being silly. They are on their way to the zoo to meet family and stopped by the event to visit. Claire is at a great age...smart, funny, and adorable!!  Plus, I LOVE the name Claire!  I've had "dibs" on it for years with my girlfriends...I always wanted a Claire.

Chris, Jackson, and I walked half a lap to see the event. It is a beautiful morning, but Jackson is "ready to go home" and I get out of breath easily. Chris simply said "ok buddy, 5 more minutes"...the joy one gets when they can tell time to a child that doesn't have a concept of time. Oh, Hensley...just wait until he's smarter than you are. ;) There were cheer stations along the route, pink ribbons on light posts, music pumping, a balloon arch across the start line/finish. With my job, these are things I love to see! I'm newer to the Strides program, so I am learning as I go and coming up with ideas to enhance the event experience for all our participants. I started my volunteer and career efforts with ACS in the Relay For Life program. I've always "bled" purple. You'd think that a breast cancer survivor would have leaned towards the pink "side of the house", but purple has been my "thing". I'm excited to continue to learn the Strides platform, but I also know that there are many things about Strides that hits a little too close to home on days when breast cancer is taking over much of my life.

After we walked our lap I started to take pictures of aspects of the event I found useful for my job...signs, balloons, staging, tents...yep, all the exciting stuff. I then found myself at the finish line taking pictures and congratulating people as they came by with their teams of family, friends, and co-workers. One lady that I spoke with was Connie who works for Adventist, the local hospital. Connie is a breast cancer survivor who has attended the event with her family. She has a contagious energy about her. The kind of smile that invites you to smile, say hello, and easily start a conversation. Connie is proudly wearing a work t-shirt and starts to talk to me about the event, her job, and our battles with breast cancer. I guess I'm easy to spot with just a hat on without a scarf(the hat is from Rich Green and our Chicago shopping trip with Michelle). Connie is there with her family, more importantly she is there with her teenage children. They had to experience their Mom's cancer at a young age, but they are now being taught to fight back against the disease. To be involved in their community and to come together as a family to show cancer that it should fear the power of family and love.

One of the favorite things I have seen over my years of volunteering and working for ACS is the commitment of our youth. They often stand up because it is simply the right thing to do. They are often taught by their parents that it is important to get involved and volunteer. They start at a young age and continue to take up the cause when they grow into young adults. I love that our future, MY future, is in the hands of great young adults that simply care because they should! I think about young volunteers that I have had the honor of working with over the years...Kari Liotta, Kate Golen, Katie Kolzow, Carly Hamilton, Jenny Adler, Adam Schwartz, The Campbell kids, my girlfriends' children, etc. The list could go on and on...cancer has impacted them in difficult ways and yet they stand up against the disease and continue to support the efforts of the ACS.

Are you a parent? Please teach your child to find a passion and please teach them to take on challenges that are bigger than life. By giving back you get so much in return. By volunteering you learn about others and you learn about yourself. So many organizations depend on the future of these young adults and children...encourage them to to get involved with their community. Not just for service hours, but because It is the right thing to do.


I leave the walk and run a few simple errands. My energy is starting to fade, but I have so much that I want to accomplish today. I stop by Momo's (my grandma) house on my way home. She always yells at me for not visiting enough. I need to make a better effort to see her more often. We talk, watch church on tv and I play with Cassandra, her cat. I rescued Cassandra from Indiana in January. A long drive there and a longer drive home. She is a pretty, little, and a 12 year old Siamese who's owner passed away. She was looking for her new furr-ever home and I had high hopes Momo would love her....well, Cassandra pretty much talked nonstop the entire 3 hour ride home. I mean, this old girl has some lungs on her and literally did not stop talking. And well, she still hasn't really stopped. Momo wanted a sweet lap cat to cuddle with and instead she is living with a Golden Girl that thinks they are having coffee and chatting much of the day. Cassandra does take a lot of naps, so there are some breaks in conversation, but it hasn't been the "love connection" that I had hoped. I think Momo likes her, but she spends a lot of time complaining about poor Cassie...granted, when I have offered to take her I get a resounding "NO"! So, they must have secret bond of love. I think Cassie is adorable, sweet, and exactly like most quirky Siamese cats. But I think you either love a Siamese or you think they are crazy...kind of like what people probably think of me. I couldn't imagine having any other kind of 4-legged family in my home...unless I had time to raise a dog.

When I make my way back home I decide to start cleaning the house. My dining room table looks like a Hallmark store exploded on it (in a good way, of course) and my bathroom is still full of hair products, accessories, etc. Daily reminders that I don't have hair and will not need the items anytime soon. I'm one of those people who spent way too much time, energy, and money on hair products. It is somewhat liberating to get ready quickly, but it is also depressing to have a daily reminder when I look on my counter, in the shower, in the drawers, on the shelves, in the cat bowl (because Henry steals all my hair rubber bands and stores them in his bowl...I mean 100s of bands have ended up in that bowl over the past year...strange cat), etc. So, I grab a laundry basket and start filling it up. It is over the top by time I take it to the basement for storage. Then I decided to clean out the cupboards, clean the bathroom, organize my medicine, etc. Zara is placed on the shelf that was built for Chloe (my first wig)almost 12 years ago. My hats and scarves are organized to replace my ridiculous amount of head bands, Sporties, and clips. For the first time in weeks I feel like I am controlling the bald situation. I'll bring the items back someday, but now I need to accept my reality and do my best to embrace it. I have left all of the shaving items in the shower and will probably continue to shave daily...yes, shave legs and arms that have no hair. It's a habit that I will not brake. I'm a shave-aholic who is not ready to go into recovery!

I'm almost completely exhausted when I finish the task. Too many trips up and down the basement stairs...oh, I forgot, I cleaned out and organized a basement room today. What was a thinking?? I have invited my Mom and Dad to come for dinner. My Farmer's Market finds will be put to good use. Tonight's menu includes turkey meatloaf (Paul Deen's recipe that I love), roasted beets, smashed baby potatoes that are boiled and the baked with olive oil, rosemary from the garden, etc., green beans with onions, tomatoes, and white wine vinegar, and garlic bread. No dessert tonight. Just not like me, but I bit off more than I could chew with today's activities. We cleared a few spots at the dining room table and sat to relax at dinner. I love having my parents over for dinner, I always have. They eat anything I make and the think it is all fabulous...who can resist that?!? After dinner we look at all of the pictures from the Head Shaving 'Party'. Joy has given me a CD of the pictures and she printed them off for viewing. They are amazing!  I still cannot thank Joy enough for giving me the gift she did. 

Joy, you made it possible for me to see the beauty in an otherwise devastating day. I'm smiling in most of the shots. I love to smile with an over sized, crooked mouth! I appreciate that the toughest times were not caught on film...I'm a ugly crier. You helped me emotionally and mentally...two things I needed more than anything that day.

I crawled under the covers shortly after dinner. I'm exhausted, but watching the closing the Olympics. It's been a good two weeks with all the athletes. I'm sad to see it end, but the closing appears to be lasting as long as the 4 years it will take to bring the summer games back. I'm texting with Danielle in Florida and we are pretty much commenting and laughing at everything that is happening. She's waiting for the Spice Girls to appear and I'm trying to explain who all of the great bands are...these are days that I remember I'm getting old. I am also following Chritine Getzler Vaugh and her hilarious play-by-play commentary of the closing on Facebook. She has her dad's wit and charm, and maybe his love for Chardonnay.

Sleep did not come easily tonight, but it finally came. With accomplishment comes exhaustion.

XOXO,

S

Join us in the fight against breast cancer.  Form a team today!
http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MSABC_FY13_FindAnEvent

Basket of medicine that replaced my hair products on the counter.  :(

Headbands, Sporties, clips...going into retirement for a long time.

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Zara on the shelf that was made for Chloe in 2000.  Really?!?!  Who the heck has a shelf for her
two wigs for fighting cancer in 11.5 years???  How the heck did this happen?

If you or anyone you love is facing cancer PLEASE reach out to the American Cancer Society.  Nobody should face cancer alone.   http://www.cancer.org/  or 800.227.2345.   24 hours a day 365 days a year.  WE are here for you.