Relay for Life Time

It's that time of year again...time to dig deep and start donating to an all-important cause of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

These relays go on all over our country throughout the summer months. In fact, I am closely involved with 4 different people and places that sponsor their own RFLs, all within a 40 mile radius of our home! But truly, the one I hold closest to my heart is almost 1000 miles away.

My bestest friend forever, you know Maggie, is again working the reins at the ACS's Relay for Life in Gardner, Kansas! This year, though, she's not part of the same team as last. This year she's gotten in deeper, closer to the core, hands dirtier, so to speak. This year she's an official ACS CAN Relay Chairperson! It sounds fancy to me, though I just know she's been going to several meetings (sometimes three in one day!) formulating and organizing ways to reach out to people to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Pete and I had an incredible experience among Maggie's Relay last summer. After a week and a half of traveling between the eastern coast of Florida for a family reunion and Hilton Head, South Carolina for some local shopping and R&R, we flew into Kansas City on our way home just in time to participate in Maggie's relay! I met so many great people and it was a thrill a minute to see so many family members who lived nearby there to support us! We spent hours relaxing, walking around the track, participating in judging different teams' stands, and just generally emersing ourselves in the ACS Relay culture. It was amazing!

In March, with Carol by my side, I attended the American Cancer Society's Look Good, Feel Better workshop at UCH. Not only did I get a big bag full of brand new, high quality, fun make-up, but I learned how to apply it all to my face, eyes, lips and eyebrows (or lack thereof!). I also tried on a variety of wigs and found out that ACS offers free wigs whenever they have some on hand. Finally, Carol and I discovered a scarf that goes on with a scrunchie that was super comfy and ultra cute! We each bought one and Carol took hers home, disassembled and copied it for me in a variety of other fabrics! But back to the workshop...
Sitting there among all those other women, each in a different but equally difficult stage of cancer (newly diagnosed, currently in treatment, dealing with recurrence, metastases, or finishing up their final treatments) made me feel not so alone in this chaotic cancer dimension in which I live. In meeting these women, swapping stories (briefly, because we were really there to look good and feel better!) and learning how to make ourselves even more beautiful, I gained a new sense of confidence and strength as a cancer patient. My hair may be almost non-existant but completely missing in random spots across my scalp, but I can still draw your attention away from my head and stragiht to my face with the simple flick of an eyeliner pencil! And the American Cancer Society made that all possible for me! For that I am forever in their debt!

So, just because you know me and you love me and some of you may know Maggie and by now all of you should love her just from hearing all that I tell you about her...please go to her blog, read all about what all she's done with ACS in the past year and her plea for donations then follow the appropriate links from there to donate to the ACS! I know these times are tough on everyone, but do please consider giving as much or as little as you can spare to this cause. Something important I've recently learned the true meaning of is this: a little does go a long way.