I had the privilege of participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure while I was in Calgary recently with my mother. This is an annual run/walk to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. There were so many people there: loud ones, proud ones, big, small, short and tall, great-grandmothers and babies, men and women, boys and girls. My brand new great-niece was there and she was only three weeks old at the time! Eight thousand folks were present apparently and my sister-in-law and I were two of them.
I was so impressed with the age range, number and variety of participants but there was one family that stood out for me. It was a family of three: father, son and daughter in a carrier on the dad's back. They had no pink clothes, no face paint or breast hats, just the simple hand written message, pinned to the child carrier and to the boy's chest: "We're running for Deborah". I have no idea if she was the mother or wife, an aunt, friend or grandmother but it made me think about why I was there. Primarily I was there for my mother who had breast cancer 15 years ago. When I thought about it though, I realized that I was there for all the mothers, daughters, aunts and sisters, grandmothers, friends and neighbours. There is strength in numbers and it is in looking around outside of our small circle and seeing what others have been through that we recognize how precious life is and how fleeting it can be. So in a way I was there for Deborah too; we were all there for Deborah, wherever she may be.
I was so impressed with the age range, number and variety of participants but there was one family that stood out for me. It was a family of three: father, son and daughter in a carrier on the dad's back. They had no pink clothes, no face paint or breast hats, just the simple hand written message, pinned to the child carrier and to the boy's chest: "We're running for Deborah". I have no idea if she was the mother or wife, an aunt, friend or grandmother but it made me think about why I was there. Primarily I was there for my mother who had breast cancer 15 years ago. When I thought about it though, I realized that I was there for all the mothers, daughters, aunts and sisters, grandmothers, friends and neighbours. There is strength in numbers and it is in looking around outside of our small circle and seeing what others have been through that we recognize how precious life is and how fleeting it can be. So in a way I was there for Deborah too; we were all there for Deborah, wherever she may be.
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