That's when it clicked.
Most of us didn't live close enough to bring her meals or clean for her regularly, but we were suddenly presented with the opportunity to gather & literally walk right beside her. From the very first race day, we knew more annual race days were in our future.
We continued to meet for this early morning race, each August. Miraculously, each year, over twenty of us family members would find each other in a sea of participants. :) Some years, my aunt cheerfully walked with us. When it became difficult for her to walk the mile, she celebrated from home or from a nearby bench. The rest of us walked for her.
After each race, we'd enjoy breakfast together. The first year, we tried meeting at a restaurant. I'll only say, with the hint of a giggle remembering it, that it didn't exactly go as planned. :) The following year we decided on breakfast casseroles at my parents' house. Finally, we settled on the ease of donuts & juice. That's now the tradition.
This year, we still had donuts & juice, but race day was different. We were a family gathered...missing the physical presence of one special lady. This year we raced in Patty's memory. This year was different. We didn't travel to K.C. Instead (& on the same day as K.C.'s race) a local organization (W.I.N.G.S.) from her hometown held their 2nd annual race in her honor.
I heard that last year, maybe seventeen people joined the race. This year, 200...maybe even close to 300 people walked around the little town's lake!! I haven't heard the official count, but it's obvious that there was an overwhelming & an unexpected amount of support. A 5k fun run/walk. In memory of someone special...to support survivors & those yet to be diagnosed. Cornflower blue shirts, with her name displayed on the back. Pink shirts were worn by cancer survivors.
Prior to the race, our extended family stood nearby, as my cousin courageously shared a few words with the crowd...about her mom & what race day meant to her family. I won't recount all of the words here. I'll just say that she expressed how happy & proud our family was to be at the race. It was a true honor.
It was also another "new normal" we had to lean into as a family, but it really was a precious day. The sun was shining. The weather was picture perfect. The scenery around the lake was peaceful & the conversations were sweet, as small town folks & their families trekked around the hilly path. There may have been a few tears, on race day, but there was still an atmosphere of joy, laughter, and hope.
Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, I hope the following pictures speak volumes.
To family members: I will put these photos on discs. I'll bring them the next time I'm in town or I'll just mail the discs. Sorry I didn't get as many pics this time; the boys wanted to run...which made it hard to take photos during that portion of the race. Loved how the family group photos turned out, though. Love you! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment