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I was up this morning, ready to put on makeup, when the phone rang. Uh-Oh. It was my turn to be on-call. I was surprised, but sometimes that's how it goes. So, I took my clothes off, put my pj's back on, climbed back into bed, and was just dozing off again when---
The phone rang. Man. "We need you to come in...." Ok. Now, I don't mind being on call, and I don't mind being called in. However, being called in right away like that is a bit annoying. Because now, I'm going to be late, and miss report, and maybe the worst part, the challenge of a parking place. I got ready and headed out.
And as I thought, I had to park in the back of the lot. No shuttle, and walked the 2 blocks to the hospital. We had a good day. Busy in an odd way.
Tonight is the start of the Relay For Life, a 24 hour fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. My friend Lisa from the hospital invited me out to Cascades Park to walk the Survivor's Lap, or the Victory Lap. I was honored, and told her I was scheduled to work, so I wouldn't be able to come out for that 6 pm event. She also told me she had gotten a luminaria in my honor. Whoa. That's awesome. I'm humbled. Lisa asked if I'd like to light it. Wow. I took a breath. Yes, I answered. I would.
So, I tried to be finished with the j.o.b., and just at 7:05, a doctor comes on the floor for a consult, and would like someone to go to the patient's room with him. Ok, that's me. And off we went.
He did his thing, we chatted business, he left, and so did I. I clocked out, went back to the change room, changing into one of the pink shirts I had received as a gift (with a pink ribbon on it), white shorts, pink ribbon socks, my "friends" necklace from one of the night shift girls, the pink ribbon stretch bracelet, the silver charm bracelet from the party, and carried it in the small pink backpack/shoulder bag . The good luck pink ribbon stone in my pocket and pink ribbon visor if I needed it. Dan picked me up at the front door.
We went out to the park, found a place to park, and wandered around. We found the Survivor's Tent, where I signed in, and was given a purple survivor's shirt, a booklet with names of the participants, survivors, and honorees (memoriams), another stretchy bracelet thing, and we were both offered a box lunch. Wow, that's nice. No thanks, we'll just be on our way...
We had missed the opening ceremonies and the survivors lap, and now the participants were just walking around the track building their lap totals. It was about 8 o'clock, and the luminaria lighting was scheduled for 9. We looked at all the team tents; there were 105 teams or so this year, making Jackson's Relay one of the largest in Michigan. And there were a lot of purple shirts. Neither Daniel nor I had been to an event, so this was new for both of us. I saw a lot of familiar faces, and chatted with a few people. Soon the announcer directed us to return to our team site for the luminaria lighting.
It was well into dusk, and 9 o'clock. If I remember, I think she (the announcer) read something, told us to light our luminaria, and maintain as much silence as possible for the solemnity of the ceremony. A bagpiper played. Daniel was next to me while we waited for a lighter. When it was passed to me, I stepped forward and lit mine. Very humbling. I'm glad it's "in honor of" and not "in memory of". Though we all know, cancer can happen to anyone, and it can be our demise. Lisa and I both lit the luminaria for our co-worker Evelyn, whose cancer snuck up on her and took her to the Lord while I was early in treatment. I knew she wasn't feeling well, then heard she was gone. Just like that. And we've had a couple other co-workers that have been treated and survived within the last few years. We lit their candles, too. When they were all lit, it was pretty dark out, and the hundreds of luminaria around the track were a very impressive site. The announcer said the walkers could resume walking, and it was life started up again. Lisa hugged me, and I thanked her for inviting me out, for the honor of a luminary, and being able to light it.
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Lisa and Me, in front of their team's site, Cromley's Little Angels.
Dan and I left then, and we walked about half-way around the track to get to where we parked. Pretty awesome. Daniel was moved, as was I.
We got to the car and on our way. We were almost to the expressway to go home, when he remembered "Your car!!" We had to go over to the hospital to pick up my vehicle! We had both been so caught up, we forgot. Fortunately, we were only a few miles away, and went back over to the hospital. I showed him the parking situation. "Unbelievable," he said. (I think that's his new favorite word.) I got into my car, and we both headed home.
We got in, I had a bite to eat, and we went to bed. Dan has a golf thing tomorrow morning. I'm planning to rest, with a massage at 2 pm, and groceries sometime.
Thank you for reading. Hugs.
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