Pink;
Ever read something that instantly makes you say “no” out loud? You then read it over not just once, but three times because what your eyes can clearly see isn’t registering with what’s going on.
This happened to me earlier this week. I was scrolling through Facebook waiting in the car for my tank to fill up at Casey’s when I saw one of my favorite teachers of all time have a post. Reading her posts brightens my day as it’s usually telling about what her kids got into today, whether that be mud or a conversation so off the wall they say that her and her husband wonders where they were taught these things ;) It wasn’t mud or crazy kid talk related at all. She found out she has breast cancer.
Why. Why does it seem like the people so genuinely good in this world have to go through the most pain? It makes you feel angry and curse the world, doesn’t it? What’s the point of being a good person if evil will still find you. Let go of that. There will always be evil and horrible things that happen. Things will still happen if you wave to every single person on your way to work or you pay for the person behind you in line at Dunkin once a week. You will still experience death and pain even if you volunteer at the food bank 20 hours a week for 40 years. With knowing this, it doesn’t make the hard things less hard. It truly sucks. Knowing a person that goes out of their way to make someone feel special and be a light for others in the darkest of times go through not just one hardship but multiple is something indescribable.
Let me say this though, no one deserves sickness in their life, not knowing if there will be a tomorrow or the thought of not being able to see their kids graduate.
My teacher made 5th grade feel like yesterday. The way I remember her coming back from break and telling us she got engaged is something I will never forget. I remember her excited look on her face and her being so excited to share her news with us. She would make going to school something to look forward to and always keeping us on our toes with her competitive nature ;) Even after 5th grade she always made me feel unforgotten. That I wasn’t just a student she had in the past. I hope she knows just how incredible she is, she has a gift that can’t be taught. I hope she knows how many lives she’s touched and impacted, even if it’s just been a 5 minute conversation. She just has a presence about her that makes you know that everything will be okay. Her love for her kids, husband and everyone else in her life is obvious. I’ve looked up to her ever since 5th grade. No pun intended, she is much taller than me though :)
I ran into her a couple weeks ago at Wal-Mart, even with a mask on I could tell it was my fifth grade teacher :) In 15-20 minutes we caught each other up and reminisced on the good ol days.. talking about where my classmates were now and how excited we were to see where there journey is going. I told my family and friends that I saw her and how it made me so happy that I ran into her. I hope to do more running into each other through the glorious aisles of Wal-Mart again :)
I named this pink; for a couple of reasons. One, pink is the associated color for breast cancer. Two, the semi-colon indicates that the author isn’t done writing their story. There is no .(period) after your diagnosis. Don’t let the cancer define you or whatever illness you have. Please don’t let it become your sole identity. You are much more than a diagnosis. You are a powerhouse. You are kind to everyone you encounter. You are a teacher. Y’all who are survivors, or someone who is battling cancer or any type of illness (whether that be physically or mentally) or even know someone who is going through this right now…. your strength amazes me. You will get through this. On days where no one has asked how you’re doing, don’t ever think that you are alone. Your loved ones are thinking about you constantly. People who you may have known only a few months are taking a moment to say a prayer for you, without you even knowing. Your story is not over, don’t let it be.
This is how I wanted to express my gratitude and support for someone who has impacted my life so much and so many others. I like to think of this as a lesson that not only you will experience but so many of us will with you. Love others. Live your life with kindness - you have no idea what someone has been through or is going through. So, let’s just be good humans to one another.
Live like Julie. Support those survivors. Live for the ones who fought.