There are mums, and there are Mums
There will be a new button on my sidebar later today, and I wanted you to know what it’s all about. Between now and October I will collecting donations and training to run in the Komen Race for the Cure. If you have not noticed yet, there is a new tab below my banner indicating a new page has been created. That page is dedicated in memory of a lady who was deeply loved and whose life was taken by breast cancer. Lalitha was a loving mother. My regular readers know Lalitha’s daughter; our friend Piper.
I am posting the contents of that page below.
In Memory of Lalitha
click to donate
In October of this year, I will be participating in the 3rd Annual Susan G. Komen Tri-Cities Race for the Cure® in East Tennessee.
The Race itself is 5K (3.1 miles) - but it is much more than a race for runners or fitness walkers. It is an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to show support of those who are winning the battle with breast cancer, honor loved ones who have lost the battle, and to help raise funds to fight the disease.
“Lalitha fought Breast Cancer with the heart of a lion and every inch of her 4 11 ¾ inch frame. If she were alive, she’d be running here today…”
This year I will be running in memory of my fellow “blogger sister’s” Mum, Lalitha. Many of you know Piper through her beautiful picture blog “what in the world…?” Some of you may also know that Piper’s mother left this earth after a fierce battle with breast cancer. I can’t tell Lalitha’s story, and I have never met Piper outside of the Internet. What inspired me to run for Lalitha was reading Piper’s memories of her Mum, and the tender love that is communicated when she writes about her. I want to run and raise funds to advance breast cancer research. I am praying for a day when young women and men no longer have to watch a beloved mother, daughter, sister, or brother die from this disease.
Here is a memory that Piper has shared about Lalitha:
My Mum grew ‘mums among the roses, pansies, poppies, sweetpeas, foxgloves and phlox in our little garden at Kanpur. There was always a riot of color and fragrance just outside our french doors. Mum learned Ikebana somewhere along the way and many of our garden flowers would then show up competing for honors at the local flower show. They’d also show up in still life: Mum painted some of her Ikebana creations; the canvases hung in various locations around our house. I loved to watch the intense concentration on her face as she created works of art - her skill at once both comforting and intimidating.
Mother’s Day is always a mixed bag of emotions for me. I love that it’s a celebration of all that’s nurturing about mothers; the commercial aspects, however, sail right over my head. Frenetic advertisements all over the place want me to spend money to show a special lady I love her. A Waterford vase! Flowers from 1-800-___, A card….gotta have a card…
I fought back tears at a store on Mother’s Day 1997 when the store clerk asked me if I was looking for a gift for my mother. I don’t have a mother anymore, whispered a fierce voice inside me as hot tears welled up in my eyes. I walked past the alarmed clerk and out the door. It was a little over a year after Mum passed on, so I could perhaps be forgiven my emotion. These days, I tend to treat the ads around Mother’s Day with a fair bit of cynicism and a chance to pick up some great gifts. :-) That’s dreadful, but there you go…
Every day is a sort of Mother’s Day for me, instead. More often than not, I have a candle burning in front of her picture - a simple, fragrant way of remembering a warm, nurturing, presence.
Celebrate Mums - the real kind! :-)
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The funds raised will support Susan G. Komen’s promise: to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find the cures.
It’s easy to donate, just follow this link to my personal web page and click donate to place it on your credit card. Donating online helps the local affiliate keep their expenses lower because processing is automatic, but if you would rather send in a check you can make it out to:
Susan G. Komen Tri-Cities Affiliate
P.O. Box 5835
Kingsport, TN 37663
Be sure to put a note in the memo section that it is to sponsor me, Supporter ID: 3010, in the Race so I can receive credit! Thank you so much for considering a donation!
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