Michelle’s Art Blog

I learned that there are just some things bigger than me. As I stared out into a sea of pink tents, and watched women of all ages limping around after our first long day of walking, I thought for the first time that maybe if enough people come together for a cause, that it will do enough to get by congress, get by the FDA and actually find a cure for this terrible disease that affects so many women worldwide. It became more than just a few blisters on my feet, calves that felt like billiard balls had replaced them, and a knee that just wouldn’t stop hurting. It became my mom’s pain, and what she had gone through before she died. It became a goal that through all the pain, my sister and I would walk 60 miles, for her. And it was a mixture of pure bliss and agony when we finally crossed the finish line. People cheered for us, people cried for us, I hugged complete strangers, sobbing on their shoulders for a mother I missed so much. And like so many others, I raised my pink rose in honor of my mother. 

It’s not an experience for everyone, and I don’t know if I could do it again. But for those that can, it is an experience not to be missed.

Well, two days and counting. I’m about to walk until my feet bleed. I guess those commercials are right, it is crazy to want to walk 60 miles for breast cancer awareness. But, it is all a good cause, and I think my mother would be proud. For those that don’t know, my mother died of breast cancer about 5 years ago. She was only 51 when she died, still very young and still very full of life. If she had been here, I know she probably would have walked beside me and my sister all the way to the finish line. I miss her.