Rally Cry

Hello again friends. I am here to ask you to take some time and read a blog by my friend Clare. If you look at the bottom of this post, you will see a link for RunMomRun. Please go and read her story.
I can give you a little background and tell you the story from my perspective but I can't do it justice. You have to read her words.
You see, almost 10 years ago I met one of my dearest friends. Clare. She and her husband had moved to Chicago the same time me and my husband had. The guys were in a Navy school together and Clare and I were bored housewives. So naturally we clicked. We spent hours drinking coffee, shopping and chatting. For a year were were inseparable. When we both moved to our new duty stations, her Norfolk, Va and us in San Diego, Ca. I cried. I wondered if I would ever see my friend again and if we would drift apart once life got in the way.
Well, I'm happy to report that hasn't been the case.

Anyway, my point. When we started hanging out, she told me about her son Johnathon. At that point in time, she was less than a year removed from his death and the wound was still fresh. She honored me with her candor and trust on such a sensitive subject.

She told me all about Johnathon's likes and dislikes. His favorite music, toys, cartoons and food. I got to know this beautiful little boy through her. We cried, we laughed and most importantly, we remembered him.
He loved elephants...and I remember I gave her an elephant that belonged to my Grandmother. I didn't know why I had brought it with me to Chicago. I could have very easily left it back in Oregon with my Mom. I remember when I packed it wondering what the heck I was packing it for. I put it in a closet and forgot about it, and only brought it out when I suddenly realized, she was meant to have it. She still has it. To this day, I can't look at a stuffed elephant without a little lump in my throat welling up.

I was one of the privileged few who got to know Johnathon. Even though I never met him in life, I feel like I truly know this little boy. Very generously, she gave me a little picture of him that is tucked away in my photo album with all my most loved family members. I cried the day she gave it to me. After all, she couldn't take any more pictures of him ever again and she was giving one to me.

As I said before, when I met Clare the wound was still fresh. Her emotions were raw and she still didn't quite have a grasp on it all. I knew the stories of how she coped after his death, but I also watched her transformation happen right before my very eyes.

I would never have believed you could recover from the death of a child. But I didn't know Clare before. Her road was rocky, tiresome and so unbearable at times a lesser woman would have given up. But I watched her climb her way, arduously, one tiny step at a time until she was finally almost a complete human again. Her eyes have a quiet pain in them, but they smile now. Her laugh on occasion has a hint of heartbreak, but it's hardy. She is whole again although a bit battered and bruised with battle scars from the personal war she has fought.

Today she is taking on a new challenge. She is running. Running in marathons raising awareness and money so that you and I never have to go through what she has. She has a very simple goal. Prevent another child from dying of cancer. With Johnathon as her inspiration, she runs. His struggle, his fight for life, is her motivation to keep moving. Forward Motion. Always stay in forward motion.
Clare is the strongest person I know. She would be the first to challenge me on that. But it's true. She has strength of character, willpower and a heart the size of Texas. My Clara is named after her because I knew, if she could somehow inherit a tiny fraction of her disposition she would be able to do anything.
So now friends, I ask that you read her blog. Hear her words. And if moved, help her cause and donate. If you are moved by what she says, perhaps you could pass it on to your friends and family. Together let's help eliminate childhood cancer forever.

http://forwardmotion-runmomrun.blogspot.com/
http://www.active.com/donate/rallyathletes/RUNMOMRUN