Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

As I posted yesterday, I volunteered at the Race for the Cure water stop. The Race is in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The Raleigh Race was organized by the Triangle Chapter and had a record breaking 18,071 registered participants!! Just reading that chokes me up, if yall think that's sappy, don't read the rest of this blog entry :)

It seemed like there was a lot more people this year than last. I've only been fortunate enough to volunteer for two years so my area of expertise is quite limited. I do know that every time I saw a pink Survivor shirt or folks with Remembrance tags/signs/shirts I got teary eyed. I saw two women who were bald and had to blink several times, look away and take several deep breaths. The mixture of courage, strength and hope I saw in their expressions was ..beyond words. There was this huge sense of comraderie, determination and, again, hope amongst everyone there. I mean, sure, you had the serious runners who just blew on by, wanting to clock a good time but they wouldn't be there, running, if this cause didn't mean something to them.

One of my friends had a chat with an elderly lady who had been walking by herself. At first I thought that there was something wrong, physically. It was pretty warm out and the walk can be pretty hard for those of us with health issues (which is why I volunteered at the water stop and didn't walk). It wasn't until later that my friend filled me in, yall can read it on Elims' blog. And you know, everyone there had a story to tell about how this disease had impacted their lives.

This morning when I hit the bookstore for coffee *coughfrappacinocough* and a paper (Washington Post - yes I officially got the job) the lady behind the counter asked if I had ran. She had noticed my pink "Breast Cancer Awareness" bracelet (you know the ones that look like flea collars in assorted colors). She said that she had wanted too but had to work. I was just happy that someone who wasn't there, knew it was going on and cared enough to ask.

All in all it was a very rewarding experience and I plan to at least volunteer or walk every year. The amount of goodwill from the participants and the other volunteers was mind boggling and repeatedly gave me goose bumps. When we put our differences aside for a common goal, it's truly amazing what we can accomplish. Just remembering the feeling that was in the air yesterday brings on the goose bumps. And the rather attractive guys running by didn't hurt the positive vibes either ;)