WARNING: Opinion expressed here!
Recently on Facebook we ladies were asked to post the color of our bra in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Awesome! Fun! White.....always white. Ya boring, I know. Yesterday, while entertaining myself with some internet browsing I came across this quote, "it made me vomitously sick" (is vomitously even a word?) so naturally I clicked on it. I came upon an article berating this act of bra-discovery. My favorite line was thus "I am vomitously sick of a serious illness like breast cancer being reduced to twee pink ribbons and strollathons." And here is my question.....Why not?
Why can't I smile, post my colors and still support breast cancer awareness, survivors and research without reducing the cause? Who are these people that are so incredibly miserable in life that they too can't have fun and raise awareness. Why must we fight in sadness? OK Carlie you say, you are healthy, your mother is healthy and you have not had first-hand experience with this awful cancer that attacks a woman's body. You're right, I have not. But I have seen the smiles on the survivors faces that cross the finish-line of a race, pushing a stroller with a pink ribbon. I have met women that have faced this disease and came out happy and grateful, not miserable. They may be lop-sided, flat, newly enhanced or they may have lost the battle and their last act is to post their colors, but they find a way to smile, tell their families they love them and say "fight on!" Because I acknowledge my bra is white, I will remember to do my self-examination this month, and possibly another woman will do hers, find a lump, and catch it early enough to win her fight. It's just a guess but I think she'll be grateful to tell you her color.
I do not believe we will win any fight in this life by living miserably and nay-saying. One of those things I actually remember my dad teaching me is this, "if you crash your car, you can either be happy or sad about it, either way, you will still have a crashed car." I think there may have been an explicative thrown in somewhere but it's a great lesson for any problem.
My mother-in-law lost her battle with breast cancer 23-years-ago, I have not met her. I look forward to meeting her. However, ask my kids about her, they remember Grandma Sharon, and I am pretty sure I know why. Before my kids came here they had a chance to meet their grandma, talk to her, sit on her lap, and yes laugh with her, planning all the awful things they would do to their dad here on earth to give grandma a good laugh in heaven. She's smiling and so should we.
