My mother died of breast cancer mets on Mother's Day, May 13, 1990. This year, the dates coincided for another very sad Mother's Day. However...the day was made brighter. My daughter, living in Chicago, invited all of us to her place for the weekend. Part of the weekend was participation in the Y-Me annual walk (see picture). Y-Me is a wonderful organization that provides women with breast cancer a 24 hour hotline for support and answering questions. It has become a lifeline for women with nowhere else to turn.
There were tens of thousands of partipants walking the 3 mile journey through Millenium Park in the heart of Chicago. The weather was glorious. The atmosphere was charged. The first time I walked a breast cancer event, it was emotionally painful. I was with other survivors and we were all sharing stories, and I just cried...for my mother and for myself. I swore I would never do another walk again. It was just too difficult.
However, my daughter had taken up the cause since my diagnosis in late 2008, and I could not say "No" to her. She cares too much. Her boyfriend's family joined us, which helped to make the walk more fun. It ended up being a joyous day - with a beautiful brunch to follow the event and a weekend of total frivolity and family love. It doesn't get much better than that.
Update: Not long after the walk, Y-Me mysteriously disappeared off the Internet; their offices shut down too. Wonder where all the money we collected went?
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