Last day of May.. can't be over soon enough

It's been a rough month.

As evidenced by the hail  (hail?  in Florida?) above... which fell in as much as 1/2" diameters on my home the Sunday before Memorial day.   In general, the last two weeks of weather here have brought deluges of various durations... all around the 5-7pm timeslots.  In addition to the hail, I have left work soaked to the knees from the depth of the water as I'm walking (the drainspouts just can't handle sudden, heavy downpours and parking lots and roads flood).   I'm driving a rental car (more on that later) that is larger than my own.   Lucky thing as I found myself driving through an intersection near work on Thursday night, and as cars hydroplaned through the intersection I could look out my driver's window and see the water rise nearly 3-4 inches below my side window.    If you get caught indoors when it starts, it is best to stay trapped and not try to go outside.  Currently, the rental has elements of the trees (from my work parking lot) trapped in the wiper wells.   I'll need to clean them out today.   The rain comes so hard and fast that it denudes a lot of the growth from the trees.

It is an unusual May.  Generally in this part of Florida in May we have drought and brush fires, followed by flooding rains in June.   Not so this year.   When not raining, the greenery is lush and fine and we have seen literally dozens of rainbows.

Those rainbows are the good things about May in my life.   Otherwise.... nothing dreadful, nothing drastic, but just one of the most "down" months I have had in a long while. 

Started with the death of a love affair.   Ended with the death of a close friend.

At my age, you hesitate to say, "my relationship".   And I prefer love affair.   Started with a good friend about 5 years ago.  Worried that by entering into it, if something went wrong ... would our friendship not re-engage?   Would I lose a good friend by trying for more?  And so, that has happened.  And I must lean into my loneliness, no voice on the phone or the voice mail, no funny texts, no shoulder to lean on.  I must say that I don't expect to love this way again in my life. 
And while I want it back, the mind tells the heart that it probably will not find another situation that I term bashert... English has no word for the sense of rightness, the feeling that you have a sense of landing where you're supposed to land with someone.  But sometimes you are meant to leave a partnership, and so I guess I have.   But I wish I could have the friendship back.  

Followed the breakup about a week later ... on Mother's day, with having a large floater appear in my left eye.   Eye issues are scary for diabetics.   I breathed a little easier when my retinologist pronounced it a PVD... something that happens to most of us when we age.  Told me within 1-3 months it would most likely sink with gravity, to the part of my eye where it wouldn't be so pronounced in front of my retina.   And little by little I've gotten used to it.  When I crack my never ending stream of self-deprecating jokes at work, I blame my "floater" for my goof ups and forgetfulness.  We laugh....but we worry a little about aging and the changes it will bring.

Topped off the month by having a somewhat minor car accident in the middle of a work day.   My fault I got ticketed.   So I've had a rental Malibu for about a week and a half now.  My car is a lease, but there is only about $4000 damage, so they will repair.   Not a scratch on me or the other driver... just an endless stream of time wasters filing claims, going for a work comp analysis, peeing in a cup (yes, the ultimate indignity).   Flash.  I wasn't drugged or wasted at 9:30 in the morning.   Just careless.  Frankly, I was lucky. 

So when my good friend succumbed to breast cancer on Thursday night, it did stun me.   Too many little shocks in one month.   And, we all choose to believe it is completely curable now, since we have come so far with the treatments.     That it won't be caught too late to metastasize and cling to one's lymph system or spread to one's other organs.   But sometimes, it still does.  I came to expect that she would die.  But it doesn't make it any easier.  Nope.

June will be better. 

Komen... be aware this month

Saturday, October 2 was the annual Susan Komen 5k in St. Petersburg. I was supposed to be on a team from my former employer to volunteer to work the race. That was no longer possible, so in my "rounds" on Saturday, I went over and did the fun walk and watched the crowds. I loved the spirit of the group "Viva Las Chicas" (above), but had forgotten my camera. Apparently, the Tampa Tribune thought they were funny and wise, as well, and featured them in one of their pictures. The ladies had raised over $1,000 for the cause.

Along with the 3 day Breast Cancer walk (it is October 29-31 in Tampa), the Komen walks and the variety of large fundraising efforts during breast cancer awareness month in October each year are staggering. And what a profoundly poignant cause.

One of my favorite efforts is the Ford Co. "Warriors in Pink" effort. Their clothing line, over the last 4 years, has raised over $1 million dollars. I saw a lot of their T's on Saturday. Here's a link to their shop site. A $20 T Shirt raises over $11 that goes directly to the cause.

Fundraising is important to combat breast cancer. But more fundamental, in these hard times, is awareness, early detection, and participating in the sense of optimism that surrounds all the wonderful developments that have happened in the last 10 years to combat this terrible disease.

http://www.shopwarriorsinpink.com/itemdetail.asp?item=WIP9207+XS&category=

Komen

It's always wonderful to see how much money is raised for the work that research centers and hospitals are doing based on the fundraising by the Susan G Komen foundation. We have two events at this time of year on the Gulf Suncoast - the first is a 5k 10k race in St. Pete, which happened yesterday. I tried to get time off to work the phones for the race last week, but alas, the world was too busy. Hopefully I can nose around to be able to help on the Breast Cancer 3 day walk at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, at least I was able to get to St. Pete and be a cheerleader yesterday, for those amazing runners. Another favorite of mine is the Ford Motor Company.... their "Warriors In Pink" campaign gives all it raises to Komen. In case you're not familiar with Komen, the foundation's story is pretty special. So here's a recap of what they stand for:

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Our Vision: A world without breast cancer

Our Promise

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure promise: to save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality of care for all and energizing science to find the cures.

Our Story

Born in a promise between two sisters – Nancy Brinker to her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36 – Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest and most progressive grassroots network fighting to end breast cancer forever.
Our Pledge

To fulfill our promise to end breast cancer forever, Susan G. Komen for the Cure will invest more than $1 billion over the next decade on breast health care and treatment, especially for underserved women, and on research to discover the causes of breast cancer and, ultimately, its cures.
Our Passion

Because 10 million women around the world could die from breast cancer in the next 25 years without the cure, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is fighting every minute of every day to save every life.
Our People

The more than 100,000 survivors and activists of Susan G. Komen for the Cure are the face and voice of the global breast cancer movement – local activists and global citizens who mobilize millions through events like the Komen Race for the Cure Series, the world’s largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer.
Our Work

With nearly $1 billion invested to date, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to curing breast cancer at every stage – from the causes, to the cures, to the pain and anxiety of every moment in between.
Our Success

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has played a critical role in every major advance in the fight against breast cancer over the past 25 years – transforming how the world talks about and treats this disease and helping to turn millions of breast cancer patients into breast cancer survivors.

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"There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't help other women." ~ Madeline Albright

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"Solutions- The first step toward a cure is to know what the disease is. " ~ from the Latin

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"The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it. " ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

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"When a miracle happens, even if not to you, its nature is to naturally expand. You can almost feel the warmth on your face. " ~ Hugh Elliot