Guten Tag Sweet Friends!

Today I participated in Cologne’s Race for the Cure as part of the FedEx team. This is relatively a new race, so it was kind of small compared to others in which I’ve participated; but many things were the same. They had the warm up band, the warm up zumba, the survivor tent, the Komen logo everywhere, Komen logo items for sale and lots of pink everywhere. Our shirts were of course purple in honor of FedEx, but I wore my pink scarf as well. No pink wig this year though 🙁

I walked in memory of my friend Valerie Hinson who I worked with at FedEx for many years and who was married to my boss, friend, confidant, mentor and second father, Joe Hinson. She fought breast cancer for almost 15 years before succumbing to its ravenous spread. She was a fighter in many ways but her particular cancer fought hard too, and eventually won. Valerie still inspires me and many others.

I also walked in honor of my friend Tam Tam Freedman in Hawaii. She was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago and underwent a double mastectomy. Oddly enough, it was her disease that made us such good friends. We knew each other before her diagnoses, but it was the cancer that sealed our bond. And while she is completely cancer free, she can never stand down or relax or think for a second that she has it “beat.” In her mind, like all former cancer patients, the disease is always lurking out there and every annual check up is cause for worry, stress and unbearable waiting. That depth of terror is something I can’t completely comprehend.

Today I walked for two women and countless others whose sense of humor outweighs their terror, whose tenacity outweighs their fatigue, and whose love of life and family outweighs the monster hiding under the bed lurking and waiting. I can’t wrap my brain around it. But I can walk. I can rally around them and others who need our help or our simple kindness. I can pray and I can send love and light in their direction.

Thank you Valerie and Tam Tam for being my inspiration. Love you!