Saturday, September 29, 2007

Run for the Cure

It is that time again. And this year will be my 7th year participating in the Run. Over the years I have done it with so many different people. Dear friends, partners, friends of friends, and thousands of people I don't know. People run under the Team Signy banner in different run sites through out Canada. Merrill runs it in whatever country he happens to be vacationing in.

This year I am breaking with some traditions, I am running it in Victoria, with my parents. And in fact will be walking it for the first time (I figure if I can run it during the chemo years then I have no excuse to not run it any other years) because I don't really think my father would appreciate me making him run 5K, and the reason I am doing it with them it because I really do want to do it with them. To share the experience and have us all feel the support and love and caring. So running it myself and making him walk, well it would defeat the purpose really.

It is also significant because this is the first year anniversary of my parents moving out to Victoria.

And it is the first run since my aunt died.

It will also be the first year I have not organized and coordinated a team where I have to spend lots of effort and concentration in making sure everyone meets up, and everyone has a travel buddy and all that. What is so great about that is I will get to be present, just be present. Feel all the feelings that come in noticing I am alive. Noticing that some others aren't. Knowing that all this effort is for the sake of loving women who have been touched by breast cancer. I will take the time to see the bibs... "I am running for Nana", "I am running for future generations", "I am running in the memory of Shirley". Notice the celebration and the tears. I will take the time for a few tears myself. And some celebration. And all of this I want to share with my parents. So now is the perfect year, to be doing it in Victoria, with two of the people that were such a huge help in my process, but I have never shared with part with (apart from the large donations they make each year). It is time to walk for the cure.

And next year, I promise, it will be back to Vancouver, and running, and organizing a crew, so you have a year to get ready.