A Walk in the Park

After seeing an invitation on Facebook, last night I ventured down to a local park to find a friend I hadn't seen for a number of years. My friend, having been through a cancer journey of her own, was participating in a Relay For Life event at our local park. I went down to support her and returned with jumbled emotions.

As I approached the park, I could feel the excitement of the hundreds of people as they walked and jogged around the track. In the center there were tents and chairs set up by the teams. A band was playing energizing music from center stage. The atmosphere was upbeat and lively.

But I was nervous and emotional. The events of the last few months has changed me from an observer of telethons and fundraisers to a person who is a grateful and hungry recipient of knowledge and research funded by these organizations. I have been taken from the periphery and am now in the center of the storm. My emotions continued to swirl.

I happened to arrive at the time in the program where a candle was lit inside each of the hundreds of bags. Each bag had the name of a person on it... someone who was being remembered because their life had been impacted by cancer -- grandparents, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends. A bagpiper led the group around the track passing each and every illuminated name.

While being overwhelmed (in a good way), last night was also overwhelming in a difficult way. My thoughts turned to my grandmother who I never got to know because of cancer. My thoughts also went to the future and to those who may not get to know me.

This is the tension that I'm living in. I live somewhere between the future and the present. Sometimes it's hard to be fully here now. I spent the majority of Saturday having a blast with my husband and son... intentionally making memories. A drive, a short hike to a waterfall, a picnic lunch, another walk with bannock & coffee on the shore of a lake. Lots of pictures were taken and more importantly memories were made with my family. Beautiful memories.

Life is too short to live in any other time than the present.

Touched & blessed by my family honoring me at another Relay For Life.