Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek
A year ago my mother-in-law, Dorrie, was in the last stages of chemo-therapy treatment for breast cancer. The treatment was very hard on her. They say that the greatest risk factors for developing breast cancer are: being female and aging. This was an eye opening experience for me. I have a wife and two daughters.
During that time, and in the months since Dorrie began this ordeal, we have acquired a lot of pink ribbons around our house. We joined the Race for the Cure, whose slogan is: Today we fight a bully.
We don’t fight the bully. They do. The women in the pink shirts, with the hats and the scarves on their heads. We offer support, we do what we can. But each of those brave women, ultimately, face this monster alone. They wouldn’t say that, but I will. Seeing the survivor’s parade at the Race for the Cure rally was one of the most moving experiences of my life. They are strong.
Last August, my mother-in-law got her fondest wish, which was to have all of her family (which have scattered to the winds) in one place at the same time. At that time we numbered twenty-four (we’ve since added two more) -- thirteen adults and eleven grandkids, and we all came together for a week, in a cabin in the mountains east of Heber City. The reunion took place over Dorrie’s birthday.
What you see in the pictures is her birthday present (at least part of it). The older kids were returning from an early morning hike, to show their grandma their new shirts - all of the grandkids wore them that day.
19 comments:
that is a great post and a great picture. love the t-shirts. the grey type is really hard to read on the black btw - just thought i'd say :)
Sorry about that, the words are supposed to be white, but I can't get it to work. Thanks for dropping by.
Chris, not only are you an eloquent commenter (tis true), photographer (tis REALLY true) but you're also a stand-up individual. This was AWESOME.
My Mom has breast cancer and another form of cancer, so reading this makes me nod repeatedly.
Beautiful shot. Beautiful T.
Love your photo!
I think I'm going to send this post to my mother in law (also a breast cancer survivor). Beautiful, Chris. Really.
Beautiful story! My grandma died of breast cancer several years ago, so this really hit home. Thanks for sharing.
What a nice way to show support and love for grandma.
I cried like a baby while reading your entry. Beautiful. I am so sorry your mother-in-law is having to go through something so horrible.
I know exactly what your family is going through.
Big hugs. By far my favourite post today. It brought such tears to my eyes for your MIL and for the rest of your family.
Lovely story. I hope you took LOTS of pictures for her!
Very touching story and those are gifts to be treasured, great shots to go along with the story.
that would get any grandma :-)
Did you get a family photo now that finally all of the family were there. You can do online printing in large format relatively cheap these days and I bet I know someone that would like a family portrait ;-)
That is awesome. The photo of them running is great. We lost my husbands mother to breast cancer.
What a considerate, moving, show of support and understanding you have for not only the women in your family, but many unknown others as well.
The gals in your life are lucky to have a man like you by their sides.
I am grateful I have your post to read and your beautiful pictures to look at-you helped keep things in perspective today.
Thanks Chris.
What a strong woman she must be. you made me cry, I was touched by what you said, and share your sentiment about them doing the fighting alone. They maybe surrounded by loved ones, but the ultimate fight is theirs alone. Thank you so much for sharing.
What a touching post. She is blessed to have such a great support system. I love the shirts!
What an incredible woman, surrounded by a loving and encouraging family....including you. You ARE eloquent, and you have a perspective that gets stright to the heart. I dig that.
Thanks for sharing your heart with us.
My mother is a cancer survivor.
I prayed for Dorrie just now.
Chris-first thank you so much for visiting my blog. Like mamageek said you leave the most thoughtful comments.
This truly brought tears to my eyes. That first shot is amazing! I hope you print it out and frame it for Dorrie. I am sure it will bring many happy memories to her.
I love this post. I am so glad we did the shirts. Going through what Dorrie went through and now what the rest of my family is dealing with, I am grateful for people like you who are so aware of cancer and what it does to the family.
This brought tears to my eyes. Great post!
Post a Comment