Hope for a Cure

What a day! If you've never been to an American Cancer Society Relay for Life event, it's kind of like a giant fair of sorts. All the fundraising teams have tents set up along the 1/4 mile track. They're selling crafts, baked goods, chances to win big prizes, massages, anything they can think of to help raise more money. And it's easy to see it like a contest - especially since our team was one of the highest, if not the highest, fundraiser in our county. We win, right?

But underneath the fun and games is the underlying reminder that we're all here because we've lost. Nearly everyone there, smiling and laughing and having a good time, is there because they've lost someone special to them to cancer. One of my best friends died at only 36 years of age from breast cancer. She never got to see my baby, or even know that she was coming. She wasn't alive for my wedding. Her parents had to bury their child. Her husband had to bury his wife after watching her suffer so, so much. And they will never have a baby together, which they wanted.

Sue was just the sort of friend who would have gone to Relay for Life and had a good time right along with me. But if she was here to go with me, it may never have occurred to me to go, and I never would have realized how important it is to find a cure.