July Birthdays and Silver Linings

Today I am grateful for a bike ride with Darcy in the cool air this morning, and for a pleasant visit with my friends Candy and Claire yesterday.

This is Candy and Claire with me in the picture below. We have a few years of living experience between us and nearly ten years of friendship. Three women who would most likely have not crossed paths in any other way than the way we did.

Life is funny that way. It puts people in our lives and provides connections that help comfort and heal. There has been more laughter than tears in our times together over these years, but it is the serious topic of breast cancer that provided our first meeting. We met at the local breast cancer support group. 

Candy and Claire now co-facilitate the group. I get there less often these days, but we remain friends, BC buddies. We share grief and loss in support group and beyond. Claire's brother Gene, also a friend of mine, passed away this spring. Candy's mom died a few weeks ago. 

They listen as I talk about how my own mom and my sister Mary Jo are doing. Hearing about grandchildren and great-grandchildren is lighter and brings smiles. 

Besides breast cancer, we do have something else far more fun in common. We were all born in the wonderful month of July. That is what brought us together to celebrate yesterday morning.  

We know details of one another's breast cancer surgeries and treatment, and we know the shared grace and gratitude of continued health. Even though we joke that Claire could be my mom, the age difference doesn't interfere. We have mutual respect and pleasant conversation.

I am so proud to call these ladies my friends and to have joined them and the other incredible women and men who are part of the "Voices of Hope" DVD projects. To view the Voices of Hope videos, click here.  I will never forget that experience. And I will never forget that silver linings come with the toughest of times. 

Thanks Claire and Candy!  

I will be taking a blog break for a few days. Enjoy these next days and pay attention deeply. That is my plan. I welcome you to go back to my first one thousand posts and read some of those. Onward!