Dear Reader:

These days I don’t look on life as a race…in fact I am quite content to just “meander” along its paths.

I am in no hurry to reach the finish line….there are still “mountains to move” and oh the places I still want to go.

I am doing much better at avoiding and/or not getting stuck in the dreaded “waiting room”…Instead I am off to find my “Wizard of Oz”….God in the usual and unusable places in life.

What became one important aspect of my journey with “little c” was the Susan Komen Race for the Cure-held annually at Daniel Island. Tommy called me in 2009 and asked if I would like to walk with him- he had already paid for two entry forms.

All mothers know, that if we are still breathing, we jump at the chance to spend time with adult children and this was a very special time. Tommy walked very slowly so I could keep up and we proudly finished the “race” together. At the same time we had a chance to talk and catch up where he was in his life and what was going on in it….savored moments.

By the next year, 2010…other family members said that they, too, were interested in participating….Miss Eva Cate had arrived on the scene so she too rode in her carriage….Lassie, Doodle, Carrie, John and Mandy joined in the fun too (Walsh and Mollie let Tommy and I stay at his condo  on Daniel Island since they had a wedding or something else that weekend and surprised us by decorating it in pink.) A few other friends of Tommy joined us….our team was called something like the Dingle Dawdlers because we only got registered at the last minute. But we had a ball!

By 2011 everyone showed up I think ….family and friends. Mollie had all participants over at her place on James Island….the title photo picture is one example of the cute decorating she did. Since the blog was up and running for about a year, by then, John suggested we call the team “Chapel of Hope Stories” and perhaps draw attention to the blog. If anything, the race just became more exciting as more people joined on to walk.

This was the year of the pink glasses….oh how I loved them so….but sadly they got lost somewhere in the celebration afterwards and never reappeared. I, also have never found them on-line either. Besides being pink they had dangling pink star earrings hanging down…so cool. “Everyone” wanted to try them on.

It was also the 2011 Race for the Cure that brought a writing contest to share personal stories about this disease. Little did I know that Tommy had written an essay and sent in for submission which was later published. As you can imagine…it is in my “Little c” Scrapbook…whenever I am feeling down…I re-read it.

In our family, we seemingly talk in in two particular cliches when we refer to our mother’s breast cancer. We say “it is what it is,” and we always try to keep things “in perspective.”

While there may be some who might belittle the oversimplification of what is an extremely complicated situation, those two small, seemingly innocuous statements relegate themselves in a rarified meaning. They give less an explanation, but rather lead us to acknowledge that although she maybe identified as someone with cancer, cancer is not her identity.

Mom is a survivor, not a cancer survivor, and certainly not a cancer victim. There is nothing more certain in this world to me than the fact nothing will beat my mother. Her legacy will remain on this earth long after she is gone, long after those reading this are gone.

My certainty of these truths stems from the fact that our mother never opined why she came to her current situation. Instead her first instinct, as a life-long educator, was to figure out a way to pass on her knowledge and wisdom.

As a teacher storyteller, she knew her greatest gift in the  world would continue to be through story. After a chance meeting with an old friend, Mom had an epiphany in which she decided her goal would be to beat Scheherazade’s record of 1001 stories in 1001 nights from “Arabian Nights.’

Therefore, she challenged herself to tell an uplifting story each day for 1002 days. The attempt would be to give back all that she has learned in her well-lived life. To pass on her wisdom to future generations, to pass on wisdom to her grand-daughter Eva Cate.

As fate would have it, this quest that started on August 31, 2010, will end on the anniversary of her initial surgery May 29, 2013. Like Scheherazade, Mom’s journey will not end after 1002 days. She will live on and so will her stories.

To support and be a part of our mother’s journey, visit chapelofhopestories. com

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Tommy’s publication has probably been the greatest gift of all. To be able to glimpse into your offspring’s psyche to see what he is thinking is a priceless gift….one I will treasure all my life.

*I am happy to report, as of March 16, 2016 I am still here, still writing the blog and God has worked in “miraculous ways” to keep me keeping on….there must be something left I need to do before changing addresses.

The Race for the Cure grows more important to me each year I participate and to have such loyal family members and friends continue to support me and the cause is completely overwhelming…I feel strongly in giving back to others who are and will travel this difficult road with hopefully new treatments and options available to them. As the years have passed so have the team photos changed…babies are toddlers, toddlers are pre-schoolers, pre-schoolers are real “schoolers.” Sunrise, Sunset.

So until tomorrow….Never say never when facing an obstacle because only God knows when our struggles are over….until then “fight like a girl” and never stop.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I decided to include the Race for the Cure after Jo and Colby gave me these gifts yesterday….a “little c” necklace and candle. Love you girls! I wore my necklace all day and have it on as I click away.

*This has also been a day of change for both Bekah and Jackson….Bekah is a proud first time homeowner while Jackson watched her family home taken down yesterday….but like Bekah, Jackson is happily setting in to her new abode. Changes are a part of life…it is how we deal with them that defines us. Bekah and Jackson are handling the changes remarkably well!