Relay Racer

Our local Relay for Life event was held this past Saturday night.  I’ve been to the Relay before, but this was our family’s first event as one of “those” families. 

For those of you who don’t know, Relay for Life is a fundraiser and celebration for the American Cancer Society.  Teams compete to see who can raise the most money with various sales, raffles, and donations. 

Cabot Corporation is a big sponsor for our local Relay.  When I was pregnant with Landon, I worked at Cabot.  They do a wonderful job raising money for the American Cancer Society – the best job in our area – for months before the actual event.  They always have a strong presence in the local community, and Relay for Life is no exception.

We tried to explain to Landon and Cody what this night was all about.  Trying to explain to Landon what being a Survivor means involves explaining what happens to people who aren’t Survivors.  We haven’t really talked about that with him.  He doesn’t need to know.

Cody understood, though, and was faced with the numbers for the first time.  There was a “memorial garden” with the names of people who didn’t survive their fight with cancer.  He seemed to grasp what that meant – at least as much as I want my 9-year-old to understand. 

Landon was the only child in the purple Survivor t-shirt.  This didn’t go un-noticed by many of the people there.  He helped carry the banner for the Survivors’ Lap.  I thought I would need to walk with him, to hold his hand and keep him from being afraid.  Turns out, he didn’t need to – or want to – hold my hand!  He wanted to hold the banner with one hand and wave with the other!  I’m sure this is only the first of many times I’ll want to protect him while he just wants to wave. 

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