A special Mother's Day
Mother's Day is this Sunday, and this one will be a little different for me. It will be my first without Mom.
She died last June from complications due to leukemia a couple of months after undergoing a successful bone marrow transplant.
Most Mother's Days you could find me scrambling in the greeting-card aisle at the local supermarket, knowing that I had a couple hours to spare before Mom got home from church. After I moved to Montana, leaving her and most of my family in Virginia, a benevolent female co-worker would usually remind me to mail the card four days early.
Like so many Hallmark holidays, it was always a last-minute headache to worry about picking out a card and some flowers. This year, I'd give my right arm to have that headache again.
Over the next few months, local businesses and some of your friends and family will begin gearing up for Relay for Life. I participated last year — it was coincidentally a few days after my mom's funeral, but I had been raising money for months — and was proud to raise more than $4,600 by walking 20 miles that Friday night.
Like most of you, I didn't give the American Cancer Society fundraiser much thought until it hit close to home. Now I'm a big supporter, and along with many of us at the Leader, we will be there in August to do our part.
Lest you cynics think our company's participation is just a way to plug our paper in the community, I'm one of several Leader employees who have lost a direct family member or spouse to some type of cancer. Stop by and talk to us about the reality of cancer.
And that's not unusual. Chances are, you know someone who has had to fight that battle, sometimes for years. That's just it — cancer affects almost everyone.
So when your neighbor mentions he's collecting money for Relay for Life, or a co-worker sends around a sign-up sheet to join his or her team, I'd appreciate it if you'd give it more than a passing thought. I know my mom would, too.
I'd give anything to be able to celebrate Mother's Day this Sunday.