May 14, 2006
the circle of life
we woke up Saturday morning. Early. Cole & Avery weren't even awake. They were all curled up in their beds. All you could hear was their weak little sighs. HHH and I slowly scooted around and got ready for the day. The day of the walk.
It had all seemed so exciting leading up to this day. Checking in each week to see how much money we had raised. Making plans where to meet.
Even the night before we went over to Nichol's house and picked up our t-shirts and race numbers. The kids even had race numbers. We all went out for a meal, sat out doors. Just enjoying the time.
As we headed over to Cal Expo the mood in the car was good. Some fun music playing and everyone talking. For Avery's part, a little gurgle here and there. Once we neared the Expo, the traffic was backed up two miles from our exit. As I started to glance around I noticed that almost exclusively each car had passengers just like us. Suddenly my body tingled with this feeling of union, camaraderie if you will. You could see that in the cars around us,everyone was dressed in the same white t-shirt that signified participation in the walk. It felt great.
As we neared the expo I looked around and there were thousands of people all walking briskly to get to the race. No one wanted to be late. The fire department had pink ribbons strewn about. Women, men, children all here to raise funds to fight this terrible disease. Then I started to notice a special color. The color of their shirts reminded me of a Gerber daisy. These were the women who were given special recognition this was "their" day. These were women who are currently fighting breast cancer or who are now survivors. The pink shirt meant they were going to beat this disease. Suddenly I was over come with emotion. The tears were flowing down my cheeks like Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite. The kind of emotion that you can't stop. Very few times in my life have I experienced something so powerful. No words were spoken. Just the actions of people. People that I don't even know.
Why all of the sudden? I have no explanation but to say being a part of this walk, gave me the feeling of a greater purpose. These women are fighters and they are not going to give up. Even after their treatment. They are fighting for us, those who aren't even fighting cancer. In some way as women we are fighting cancer every day.
We parked and made our way over to the rest of the team. The Boobie Troopers. There were 29 of us. Including children. A lot of the women that were part of the team were either lifelong friends of Nichol's or high school friends. These were my friends to. It felt good to see them and be their with our respective families. We played catch up for awhile and then made our way to the start of the walk.
You could see and hear the news helicopters flying over head. There were also several radio stations on site. Our team name was called out a few times. The DJ wanted to know why there was only men on the team. Then we all started yelling ,so he knew there were women too.
We made our way through the walk. Just taking our time and taking in the environment.
As we were nearing the end of the walk, there was a surprise for Nichol. A group of women from Nichol's work surprised her. They were screaming "BOOBIE TROOPERS" "GO".... Nichol had no idea. Once she saw that this wonderful group of women had made there way to Sacramento to support her the tears were flowing. We were all very touched.
All of the sudden you could see the big clock in the distance with the race times. Then you would hear the speaker yelling the runners/walkers completion times. Then they would ask "how many years?" the responses varied "5 years" " 3years" "10 years." We all knew what this meant. There is hope. Once again you could feel the hands clutching around your heart.
After the walk we took pictures and made out way back to the Garcia's for a bbq. This was a day I will remember for the rest of my life. For anyone reading if you have ever thought of participating in any event of this kind. You will regret not partipating. As a team we raised over $8,000. We actually made a difference. This money will help find a cure. This feels good.
Nichol, I am standing by your side and we will walk this walk until it's you who is yelling out "10 years"
posted by Becca at 3:11 PM
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2 Comments:
so powerful, so personal and yet so vast....I am moved just reading about it...congratulations on the fund raising.
ok, Bridal Falls here as I read your post. I can't thank you all enough for your support. To know there were 25,ooo people participating that were fighters, survivors, or supporters gave me a feeling I have never felt before and I can't even explain it. Thank you so much to you and your family. I love you guys!!
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