One week from today

I will have completed my FIRST 1/2 marathon!
I'm sooo excited and even more excited that I get something from here:

Okay, so I admit, I originally signed up for the 1/2 marathon when I learned I would receive a tiffany necklace at the finish line. But, that faded because really, I've wanted to run with Leukemia, Lymphoma Society for many years.


In 1984, I lost my best friend to leukemia. Jenny was only 20 years old. We met in high school, cheerleaders for our sport teams. She was my ONLY female friend in high school because she was not a back stabber. We both shared the same views about high school drama. When I got married way too young, she was right there by my side. And after the birth of my first baby, she stayed with me a week even though she had recently been diagnosis with leukemia.
She lived only 1 year after diagnosis. In those years, there was not much but chemo. She tried a bone marrow transplant but it wasn't a good match. She suffered a lot at the end, doped on enough morphine to kill ten horse but barely touched her pain. I still scream inside on the unfairness of it all.

On October 19, I will run in her memory. A dear friend, whom I miss greatly still today. Her smile, I still see clearly in my head.