All the things I am thankful for...

I am thankful for. . .

1. My husband: the fact that he builds a fire every night, takes out the dogs before bed, and makes coffee every morning. I am so thankful that he takes care of me in all the small ways.
2. My dogs: they are sweet, nuzzling, warm, wiggly, smelly, kind, funny, smart, and teach me something new all the time. They have made my life better.
3. Cancer: weird huh? well it made me change so many things and made me a braver person.
4. Hockey!: the NHL Arena has been a place for me to learn and grow as a fan and I have found new friends! And I am now an official Columbus Blue Jackets nerd!
5. My car: again . . . weird . . . but it's cute and I love it and it is almost paid off!
6. My iPhone: okay this is insanely materialistic of me - sorry!
7. That Barack Obama won the election. 'nuff said.

I hope that the coming year brings peace and change. I hope that sanity rules and love reigns supreme. I hope that intelligence and strength are not looked upon as conflicting sides of the story.

And I hope that with each day we are closer to losing fewer and fewer young women to breast cancer.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Another great loss

This year has been a series of ups and downs. The downs have been devastatingly low.
Yesterday I was informed that a friend and fellow survivor, Heather Pick, had passed away at the tender age of 38 from metastatic breast cancer.
She had served on the inaugural Executive Council for the Central Ohio Chapter of the Young Survival Coalition. She served as our honorary co-chair for the first In Living Pink Fundraiser. I will never forget that she showed up without her wig (she almost never appeared in public without a wig) but had not brought her family members. "I didn't know family could come!" We were so amused by her humbleness. She did not want to participate with the YSC as a supportive person, rather she wanted to help us reach more young women through her media contacts and by providing us opportunities to get stories out about the YSC.
Heather als reported on innovative discoveries at Childrens Hospital and the Columbus Zoo. She also lent her beautiful voice a recording of music to benefit cancer research. She did so much in so short of a time.
The Columbus Dispatch did a nice write up today and I am sure there will be more to come. But I will leave you with these words of hers:

Don’t wait. Give someone an unexpected gift
just because you appreciate them.
Take your own loved ones
to a cherished community treasure
or try something completely new.