Making Strides - How Blessed Am I?

I know it, I feel it, I try to live and share it.  There are many people in treatment that don't have family, support, sounding boards, someone to care for them when they go home after treatments, appointments, surgeries.  I cannot imagine that.  Blessed am I that is not my experience.  I am sharing a few threads with you.  The first is from Janet Manning Smith who a second year team captain for the Puckered-up Team.  The second one, my sister Jenn forwarded to me.  I don't do Facebook but my niece Miranda Pelletier posted about why she is walking and Jenn sent it to me.  Blessed, loved, humbled, ever so thankful for all of you.  I hope you will take a moment to read each one.  Participate if you can by walking with the group, donating any amount as it does make a difference, and/or pay it forward to anyone suffering from Cancer.  You have all made a tremendous impact in my life.

From Janet:
...there will be another Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk in Dover.     I am  walking again in support of my lifelong friend, Tracy Pelletier, and all those women close to us who have been challenged by this disease.   
Bob and I would like to invite all to our home for coffee and donuts again this year  before the walk.  Registration for teams begins at 9am and the walk starts at 10:30 am.  It was a spectacular fall day last year  and we are hoping for the same again this year.  Let us know if you are able to join us so we can have enough for all.
Please join the Puckered-up Team for a stroll on Sunday, Oct 16 or make a donation or, better still, BOTH!  Thanks for whatever you are able to do.  It means so much to so many.
Warmly,
Janet
Click here to visit my PERSONAL page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=17567407&pg=personal&fr_id=36167&fl=en_US&et=VrpGUuuJdHPBzX8jVkgzew&s_tafId=803205
Click here to visit our TEAM's page
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?team_id=981591&pg=team&fr_id=36167&fl=en_US&et=8YK-LTDPalZVDf-KDpENfQ&s_tafId=803205

From my niece Mandy (#199 in the photo below) forwarded by Jenn:

Not sure if you had seen this as you are a non-facebook person. Thought she did a great job.
Love you! xo

The other day I heard, "Heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things." The sentiment stayed with me, and a couple days later I was checking up on my Aunt's blog when I had an epiphany, my Aunt Tracy is a hero. Her journey battling breast cancer is extraordinary, her courage is inspirational, and her positive attitude and humor throughout it all is superhuman.
Why am I walking?

Witnessing my aunt battle something so powerful, reading the confessions of her and my uncle's experiences in the Puckered-Up Blog, and watching as she kicks cancer's ass is inspiration to make the most out of life and let the little negative things slide by. I practice more gratitude each day, love more, laugh more. It becomes really easy to be SO grateful for the ordinary priviledges in life that aren't given much thought- being able to easily sleep at night, eat what I please, get a manicure or pedicure, shower without my skin in pain; when someone I love is so courageous, positive, and genuinely grateful for the good things in life even in the midst of a devastating battle. I'm so fortunate to have such an incredible rolemodel in my life whom exemplifies grace, beauty, and vivaciousness even in the thick of a storm.

No woman should have to go through this. Everyone deserves more birthdays, more life, more time with their family; no one should have to endure breast cancer. Alone, I can't make much of a difference; but together we all can. The money we raise goes to research for cures and new treatments, helps give access to screenings and care for all women, therefore helping reduce the risk of breast cancer or finding it earlier altogether.

The goal is to live in a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays. Each dollar raised is a means of inspiring hope and increasing awareness, getting us a little bit closer to the day when we can say that breast cancer will never steal another year from anyone's life.

I'm walking for all the women who prove that the unimaginable can be accomplished by experiencing breast cancer with courage and tenacity- encouraging and inspiring us all to be thankful for our health, our fortunes, our loved ones, and each day that we have.

I'm walking for my Aunty Tracy, who is a incredibly strong, beautiful, hilarious woman whose journey reminds me everyday to live life to the fullest.

I donated, and I'm asking you to donate too. Right now. It only takes a minute, and every little bit counts. Maybe you could skip Starbucks tomorrow and donate the $5 you'd usually spend on a latte? A little sacrifice from each of us amounts to a huge impact in someone else's life.

Thank you so much- from me personally & from all the lives you'll help positively impact!

Donate at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/mirandapelletier