ABC Wednesday -- O is for...

O is for October

What is October to you?

Does this leaf represent October? It may if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. The other day I was looking out the window through the blinds and I thought it was snowing. The wind was blowing all the leaves off our big birch tree in the yard and they were drifting like huge snowflakes. Nights are very chill and I have to scrape frost from my windshield if I go somewhere in the morning.

October is a carnival of color.

Or maybe this represents October for you.

When our kids were growing up they did not wait till October to start thinking about their Halloween costume. But when they started asking in July or August, my answer was, any costume worth wearing can be made in the days before Halloween. It doesn't take months and I refused to think about it that early. Now, the giraffe costume took some time for the paper maiche and paint to dry. The robot took a trip or two to town for boxes and dryer vent and silver spray paint. (The arms and legs were that expandable plastic venting, Really cool effect!) But most costumes were thrown together no more than the day before from stuff around the house.

Halloween is coming this Saturday, and though where we live we don't usually see many trick or treaters, they will be out and about haunting the streets in town. I hope they have as much fun with costumes as we did. If Halloween celebrations are not common in your country, do you have a holiday when kids dress up?

All the color and fun aside, October is also a serious month.

It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This is especially important to me because of my mother and my sister and other relatives and friends. It is important to me because I have daughters, daughters-in-law and granddaughters. It is important to me becasue I am a woman.

In the summer of 1993, both my Mother and my sister Ann were diagnosed with breast cancer. They had surgery a day apart. Mother had radiation; Ann had chemo and radiation and continued to work as well as care for many of mother and dad's needs. In January of 1995, twelve weeks after Dad died of another cancer, Mother followed him. They would have celebrated their 61st anniversary the next month.

The day of Mother's funeral my cousin Terry was in surgery. (Her mother, my Aunt Grace, had fallen to the disease two years before.) They identified four different kinds of breast cancer cells in her breast tissue.

Ann's cancer returned a few years later, and she lived with it until October of 2003 and died the day after her 48th anniversary. Terry is well, and enjoying her retirement.

Make an appointment for a mammogram.

Do a monthly breast exam.

My list of those directly affected by breast cancer grows. It includes other relatives, many friends, and many friends of my friends and relatives. I carry the names of about 75 on my hat and have quit adding names to it because there is no more room. the names are not only women, but also men who have had breast cancer.

I'm walking again. During our recent cruise, on a day at sea, my husband and I joined others for 5K in "On Deck for the Cure". (8 laps around the deck in case you wondered.)  And because the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation took place in Seattle while we were gone, I am signed up to do the walk in Arizona in two weeks.

I still desperately need more sponsors. So if you want to do something to bring an end to this disease which affects so many, please consider  clicking my shoes in the sidebar and donate five or ten or more dollars to my sponsorship.

Watch in the next couple of days for some special items I will be offering as an incentive to sponsors. I just have to get the pictures taken.

Okay, here's a bunch of links for you:

ABC Wednesday is in it's fifth season. Visit the site to see what others have found for O. Please also visit our ABC hostess Denise, who is grieving the death of her beloved pet Wilma.

For more information about the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, visit the 3-Day site.

For information about Breast Cancer and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, look here.

And if you would like to sponsor me, here are my shoes again.

Okay, I can't make the pictures into links, the links are above in the text.