Circle of Friends

This Sunday morning my closest friends and I will join to walk in the Race for the Cure - the cancer walk in Spokane, WA. Many of us have friends and family members who have been hit with cancer, but we unite for one very special reason.

Our sweet Jennifer was diagnosed this winter with breast cancer. She had a big lump in her breast, undetected because she was nursing her little Elena. Jennifer has an amazing husband, Cory, and 3 beautiful little children: Joshua, Tyler, and Elena. She is not even 40 years old. She is too young for cancer. She is too busy with her family to spend time fighting cancer. But she is doing it. Day in and day out, she remains strong and hopeful and present to her family and friends. The treatments are working. The lump is shrinking - a miracle is happening before our eyes. Jennifer lost her hair and is still so beautiful. Her grace and wisdom are actually helping us, her friends, deal with her cancer. She is the miracle, she is the hope we are seeking, she is the life we are walking for on sunday morning.

We walk for Jennifer, united for Jennifer. We haven't been together for over a year, all of us. Our families keep us busy and scattered. But we are all coming together for Jennifer, to laugh, to cry, to reminisce, to dream, to share stories and photos of our children. We love each other so much, and trust in each other, that we don't need to see each other every day or even every week. We know we can spend months apart and come together as if we've never been apart. Our circle of friends have been together for over 10 years, and will remain close forever, I think. BFF. They are wonderful supports, listeners, guides, comedians, story-tellers, musicians, runners, artists, teachers, cooks & bakers. They are wonderful moms, spouses, sisters, daughters. They are wonderful friends. I am so lucky. We all are, to have each other when the chips are down and when they are up.

Our Circle of Friends - look for us on Sunday, April 19. We will be wearing our special pink t-shirts and walking & running for Jennifer and for each other and for all of the other people in our worlds affected by cancer.