Komen Race for the Cure

I walked in the Race for the Cure today. I did it in the memory of a dear family friend, Deadra Perry who lost her battle to breast cancer in January 2010. I got dressed this morning in my pink ribbon shirt at the crack of dawn and promised myself I'd hold it together. That didn't last long. I got on the subway at exactly 7:00am and it was so jammed that I had to stand. Several ladies had on their pink "Survivor" t-shirts and I couldn't help but think why couldn't that have been Dee Dee. I shake it off and put on my headphones. Of course, the first song to play was "Higher" by Creed. I jammed my oversized sunglasses on because I felt the tears coming. So there I was, first thing in the morning, standing and crying on the subway like an idiot. I wasn't bawling uncontrollably or anything like that. But part of me wanted to pitch a full-on tantrum.

After I manage to pull myself together, I get downtown and again am overwhelmed by the number of people. It was all beautiful and sad and terrifying at the same time. As I walked to meet up with my group, I still was not myself. I had a rough time before the race even began. We finally passed under the "Walkers' Start" sign and almost instantly I felt light-headed. But I figured I'd power through. A mile later, I had to sit down. I was seeing spots and my legs felt like jelly. After some rest, a borrowed granola bar and a pep talk to myself, I rejoined my friends. Of course, 15 minutes later, my hip started to hurt. Terrific.

But we eventally finished the race even though I was out of sorts for most of it. It's amazing how much impact a person can make in someone else's life. I hadn't seen Dee Dee for almost 2 years when she passed. But there was a time in my life when I saw her and her family more than I saw my own family. I loved her and my memories of my time spent with her will always be with me. Rest in peace, Aunt Dee Dee.