Last year I attended the Love is Bald (LIB) Fashion show as a guest and a friend supporting the cause. This year I was fortunate enough to be asked to photograph the event. Last year as I stood there watching the men and women that walked that stage I teared up several times seeing their stories and knowing how heart wrenching the experience of cancer can be. I have a mother who has had breast cancer many times, I have seen my daughters grandmother be taken to heaven, I have watched friends suffer, and meet so many amazing people through my business adventure that have been down this long road. Many of those people I have meet I am blessed to now call them my friends.
The Fashion Show was held on September 17th and for many of my wedding friendors they will know that this is in the midst of BUSY season. On top of that I was training for the Battleship Half and had my heart set on a PR (Personal record for those non runner friends). I plan my running schedule in advance and on this day I had the hustle and bustle of three girls in different schools, cheer, dance, cross country practice, prep for 4 upcoming events that weekend, a regular work day, and needed to get in 6 miles. I packed all of my running gear to hit the gym after I photographed the show. I will tell you right now that my intention beforehad was to bring clothes to run but possibly not go. (Best intentions count right?)
I love my job and being able to be involved and help such amazing organizations like LIB but I have to say that on a night like this I am the one who wins. I see the beautiful volunteers, the supporting spouses, the loved ones who come to watch, the beauty of the space and so much more. The night of the fashion show I was blown away by all of the beauty in all the men and women involved, and I don’t mean on the outside. There were survivors that walked for themselves, ladies that walked for their sisters, men that walked for their mothers, and angels among us that night. That angel spoke to me….did you hear her voice? I left this event crying and so moved. I was so excited to go home and look at the pictures from the event that I couldn’t wait.
Remember how I told you that I intended on running but probably wouldn’t? Well, when I left Bakery 105 I headed to the gym. I was tired and it was 11pm but I knew if those amazing people could walk that runway, fight cancer, hold their mothers hand, be so sick they couldn’t play with their children but still hold their head up, watch their grandparents pass that I could run. So I ran… I ran all 6 miles and I do not even remember it at all. The entire time I ran I thought of all those amazing men and women that walked and I just kept moving along. Running 6 miles was easy compared to what they had to endure. When the treadmill said I was finished I didn’t even realize because my mind was whirling.
Do you ever have times you can’t go on? What gives you motivation? Who was a fighter that you can tap into for strength? I tap into everyone who wants to run but can’t because we are all running in different ways through this journey of life. Just remember some of us can only imagine how difficult it would be to walk in another man shoes. Can you go on?
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