Race for the Cure

Saturday morning my mom and I met up with my cousin Jennifer, her boyfriend and his daughter to participate in Race for the Cure. I confess, my cousin has asked me to join them for years and for one reason or another, I just never have. So, this year I finally commited to joining them - and was so glad I did.
I had no idea what to expect but what I discovered was an overwhelming feeling of community and caring in the massive crowd of people who turned out at 7:45am on Saturday morning for a cause that I'm not sure I truly understood the magnitude of until that morning. We hear about it a lot but that didn't transfer for me until I was walking behind person after person who was either a survivor or who had a badge pinned to the back of their shirt in honor of who they were walking for (they have badges - for lack of a better word -that say "In Memory of" or "In Celebration of" and people then write down the name or names below it and pin it to the back of their shirt). It was a bit of an emotional journey seeing all those names...and realizing how many lives this disease has - and continues to - claim. On a more positive note, it was inspiring to see how many people are fighting back - both survivors and those who turned out in support. I couldn't believe how many people were there - it was overwhelming...and extremely beautiful.
And I have to say, I was proud of my cousin for the years she's done this and for pushing me to get involved. That's truly passing on goodness.

the am crew

how do you like them puffy eyes? :) (me, not my mum)