Steve and I get all kinds of tempting offers to go hang out and have martinis or
whatever, but this time of year it's just not that possible. We'd love to, and we know that if we keep turning down invitations they'll eventually stop, but we can't afford the time away from our responsibilities right now. After April, we'll have plenty of time to socialize. Maybe.
It's hard to relax with so much going on! Every time we sit and unwind, our minds are going 50mph trying to figure out what needs to be done next.
On the fundraising front, things are going very well. All I need is more people. That figures.
Huge plans, for a big radio publicity push all next week, and a live radio remote the night of the event. And we're having a telethon, with phones that a local cellular store will be activating for us. First of its kind in this city!!
We have a record number of participants signed up, and the committments from many many more people who are planning on being there. My god, it's going to be huge.
Last year's event was documented with a really great DVD that a local videographer put together for us. He focused on the Cancer Survivors and the Wings of Love project that was put together for them. A local gal supervised a group of sewing volunteers who sewed these shawls that had the shape of angel wings. They produced over 100 sets of these "wings," and the wings were presented to each Survivor as they checked in at the Relay event. Everyone loved them, they were so honored to get something that was put together specially like that. I assumed that the Wings of Love volunteers were doing the same this year, and unfortunately I found out a month ago that they had decided it was too much work. Desperately, I searched around for something to replace the Wings because I knew this was something very important to the Survivors. Everything I researched was too time consuming and expensive. And with all the other details of the event needing attention, I couldn't dedicate every day and night to the task.
So I received, by surprise, this amazing rag quilt from Tabor Iowa. It was perfect. Something done by hand, with love, by someone who's always been so special to me. I love telling people the story of befriending Brandy, going thru those awful things that we did, then somehow losing touch and then reconnecting many years later. So every time I show someone this awesome quilt from her, I get to tell the story again. I can't convey how important this gift is, really there's no words for it!
To be sure that this quilt goes to someone very deserving, I am offering it in the raffle that is for the Cancer Survivors only. People might buy tickets for it, but I will ensure that it will go to a Survivor. Someone who has faced death and beaten it down. Someone who needs the warmth of such a special item, and who would truly respect the message of the ribbons sewn into it. It won't be folded up and put away, it will be proudly displayed for everyone to see it.
When I see that quilt, I think of all the loved ones we've lost to Cancer and how it represents what we're fighting for; a cure so we won't lose another friend, mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, or sister. I still feel the awful pain of losing someone a year ago to Cancer, and I can see the pain in Steve's face when he talks about his mom. His cousin's funeral card still sits in our kitchen, and once in a while the realization that we've lost so many in recent years to Cancer just overwhelms us.
Time to stop all this pain.
