songbird's crazy world

My gold loveknot earrings, the small ones in the Tiffany box, are special.   I won them in a raffle.  No biggie, except that the raffle took place at Relay for Life. For those who don't know, Relay for Life is an American Cancer Society event.  The objective is to form teams, and each team is expected to take turns walking around a track all night long.  It was June 2007, the first year our school district held this event.  We held the event at my daughters' high school, the one where the football field is dead center in the middle of the track.  At one end of the track was a stage, where the politicians spoke and the school groups performed.  At the other end of the track were the vendors, the raffle tables, etc.  The middle of the field, of course, was tent city. Becca was a freshman that year and Jen was a junior.  Becca was all enthused about the event because her dance team was scheduled to perform early in the evening, her go...

What a lovely day for a walk! didn't go last year -- the rain -- but here's my report from 2 years ago . it's important for me to go to this event, I am a survivor and the American Cancer Society was there for me when I was sick. this year was a bit different, I didn't have a daughter with me. this year's album is here . the beach was gorgeous. new roof on the water tower: registration tent Survivor's tent: the walk begins real men wear pink...fairy wings! a pink gorilla! and, of course, yours truly

My page for this year's event: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/MakingStridesAgainstBreastCancer/MSABCFY11Eastern?px=7087350&pg=personal&fr_id=27996

I've got my materials for this year's walk. Didn't go last year due to bad weather, and other issues.  Went a few times when Jen was a cheerleader -- her whole team walked.  and I took Becca a few times when she needed credit for Key Club. guess I have to go register on line and set up my donations page....

we are right in the midst of a nor'easter. or rather, two nor'easters. wind and rain yesterday, wind and rain today, wind and rain tomorrow and wind and rain on Sunday. coastal flooding watch in effect. there is a real possibility I will NOT be at Jones Beach on sunday for the breast cancer walk.

2005 was my nightmare year. the words that dominated my year: cancer....surgery...radiation...chemotherapy. the words I focused on: hope. cure. uterine cancer at age 45. and a song that played on the radio as I drove to Good Samaritan for my treatments: It's been years since they told her about it The darkness her body possessed And the scars are still there in the mirror Everyday that she gets herself dressed Though the pain is miles and miles behind her And the fear is now a docile beast If you ask her why she is still running She'll tell you it makes her complete [Chorus:] I run for hope I run to feel I run for the truth For all that is real I run for your mother your sister your wife I run for you and me my friend I run for life It's a blur since they told me about it How the darkness had taken its toll And they cut into my skin and they cut into my body But they will never get a piece of my soul And now I'm still learning the lesson...

This will be the third year that our school district will hold a Relay for Life. Our first Relay, in 2007, was a huge success. We camped out at the high school all night, raised a huge amount of money for the American Cancer Society. It rained last year, and most Long Island Relays were cancelled. We held ours in the high school gym (it ended at midnight) and raised a ton of money. They lined up the luminaria on the bleachers, spelling out the words "hope" and "cure". (click on photos to enlarge -- some day I'll learn how to resize photos to fit the blog). you can donate in my name here .

thanks to suzanne , I decided to join the party. I got into blogging last year because of Suzanne. I've known her on message boards for awhile, but I've gotten to know her much better since entering the blogosphere. I've also met several others whose blogs I am starting to love, and look forward to meeting even more bloggers now that I've joined the party. So I guess that means I have to introduce myself. I am a single mom from Long Island. My older daughter, Jen, is a college freshman, going to school in New England. Younger daughter, Becca, is a high school junior. I am also an attorney with an insurance company, with offices in Jersey City, NJ, a really "wonderful" commute. I sit on the board of trustees at my synagogue (which means I do a lot of volunteer work there!), and I am active in various fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, currently planning for this year's Relay for Life. I like ot take photos, so you'll see many of them in ...