Great Night

Well, let me start off by saying that I must be a "maw maw" or something, because I was only able to make it till 12:30 a.m. at the Relay. I probably could have pushed myself to go longer, especially considering that there were survivors still walking at that time....

The team that I originally joined was very small... (Just me and the team leader showed up...) So we joined in with the team from Medical Records at SRH. We were warmly welcomed, and I got to put names to faces, and got to know a little more about the people I see on a daily basis. (Our office is in Medical Records. We're pharmacy people, so technically we're "squatters"...) One of the girls on our team has a mother, an aunt, and a grandmother who are all cancer SURVIVORS. And all three of them were there walking with us! :)

The theme for this year's Relay in Pascagoula was the 80's. Our team's theme was "Purple Rain". Our baton was a purple cardboard guitar with a purple feather boa as the shoulder strap. We didn't win any team competitions, but let me just say that "Purple Rain" ROCKS!!!!! :O)

The Relay was held under the big pavilion at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. I brought all the stuff Angie said I would need, but thankfully I didn't need the TP after all. The pavilion had restrooms, so no porta-potties for us... ;) They were supposed to turn all the lights off for the luminaria event, but somehow that did not happen. The candles were lit, but overhead lights were on as well. So you didn't get the full effect, but it was still touching...

I was talking at some point during the evening, probably right before we were supposed to do the luminaria event, to another girl on our team, Alicia. She said something to me that spoke to my heart, and was probably the most profound truth that anyone could have spoken last night. She said she cried during the survivor lap (and I did too) because there still aren't enough of them. I totally got what she said. Until we win the battle against cancer and until a cure is found, there will NEVER be enough survivors!

All in all, it was an awesome experience! One I will definitely look forward to participating in next year and the years to come. When I think of all that the survivors have had to endure, as well as those that lost the battle before a cure was found, my "problems" are miniscule. If you are like me, and need a little "humble pie" every now and then, this event should do the trick...

Blessing to you all for a wonderful weekend!

Amy