Relay for Life
Our school distict held its 3rd annual Relay for Life this weekend.
Relay is held on the high school track, and it's an all-night affair -- those who plan to stay all night set up camp on the grass, mostly in tents. We had two tents on our campsite, one for Becca and her friends, and a second for the chaperones -- me and my ex husband Drew.
You must understand that no one in my family, or in my ex's family, ever embraced an outdoor "let's go camping" lifestyle. I bought my tent two years ago, the first time the school did Relay, and I've used it exactly twice. Drew bought his tent specifically for this year's Relay. In the battle of Robin and Drew vs. the tenst, the tents took round one...but ultimately we prevailed, and set up our camp.
We made ourselves comfortable -- a cooler full of food and beverages, lawn chairs, sleeping bags.
The weather cooperated this year, for the most part. We had a bright, sunny day yesterday, followed by a clear, moonlit night (a full moon!). It got very very humid late in the evening, condensation formed on everything, even on the inside of our tents.
Although it's a fun evening, camping out under the stars, listening to student entertainment, buying raffle tickets (no, we didn't win anything this time around) and such, do not forget that the purpose of Relay is to raise awareness and money for the American Cancer Society. Cancer has touched so many lives....
The first lap around the track is reserved for cancer survivors, a celebration and affirmation of life.
I proudly took my place behind the survivor banner. It's been 4 1/2 years since my diagnosis and I feel fine.
The luminaria are lit after sunset. Each luminary represents a victim or survivor.
some of the things I wsill remember from this Relay --
-- each participant gets an official Relay t-shirt, but Becca and her friend wanted to make their own shirts. they spray-painted and decorated shirts -- and never put them on
-- since the official color of Relay is dark purple, I bought nail polish in what I thought was deep purple, and did my nails yesterday afternoon. although the polish looked purple in the bottle, it was really midnight blue.
-- midnight blue nail polish is uber-resistent to acetone
-- porta-potties are truly disgusting
-- if you must sleep in a tent, bring an air mattress, it makes all the difference
-- ever seen 8 or 9 teens sitting in a tent, each with his/her cell phone turned on as they text the rest of the teen world?
So Relay is over, and Making Strdies Againt Breast Cancer is only 4 months away....
Here are a few photos:
the official participant t shirt:
erecting the tents:
the luminaria:
the full moon:
the rising sun:
Relay is held on the high school track, and it's an all-night affair -- those who plan to stay all night set up camp on the grass, mostly in tents. We had two tents on our campsite, one for Becca and her friends, and a second for the chaperones -- me and my ex husband Drew.
You must understand that no one in my family, or in my ex's family, ever embraced an outdoor "let's go camping" lifestyle. I bought my tent two years ago, the first time the school did Relay, and I've used it exactly twice. Drew bought his tent specifically for this year's Relay. In the battle of Robin and Drew vs. the tenst, the tents took round one...but ultimately we prevailed, and set up our camp.
We made ourselves comfortable -- a cooler full of food and beverages, lawn chairs, sleeping bags.
The weather cooperated this year, for the most part. We had a bright, sunny day yesterday, followed by a clear, moonlit night (a full moon!). It got very very humid late in the evening, condensation formed on everything, even on the inside of our tents.
Although it's a fun evening, camping out under the stars, listening to student entertainment, buying raffle tickets (no, we didn't win anything this time around) and such, do not forget that the purpose of Relay is to raise awareness and money for the American Cancer Society. Cancer has touched so many lives....
The first lap around the track is reserved for cancer survivors, a celebration and affirmation of life.
I proudly took my place behind the survivor banner. It's been 4 1/2 years since my diagnosis and I feel fine.
The luminaria are lit after sunset. Each luminary represents a victim or survivor.
some of the things I wsill remember from this Relay --
-- each participant gets an official Relay t-shirt, but Becca and her friend wanted to make their own shirts. they spray-painted and decorated shirts -- and never put them on
-- since the official color of Relay is dark purple, I bought nail polish in what I thought was deep purple, and did my nails yesterday afternoon. although the polish looked purple in the bottle, it was really midnight blue.
-- midnight blue nail polish is uber-resistent to acetone
-- porta-potties are truly disgusting
-- if you must sleep in a tent, bring an air mattress, it makes all the difference
-- ever seen 8 or 9 teens sitting in a tent, each with his/her cell phone turned on as they text the rest of the teen world?
So Relay is over, and Making Strdies Againt Breast Cancer is only 4 months away....
Here are a few photos:
the official participant t shirt:
erecting the tents:
the luminaria:
the full moon:
the rising sun:
Reminds me of the 3-day walks I've done with the tents and the moaning about porta potties! Congrats on being 4.5 years through it.
ReplyDeleteGotta hand it to you, I wouldn't "camp out". The thought of using a porta-potty freaks me out. I'm glad to hear you're doing well. My mom has been cancer free for 12 years now.
ReplyDelete