This is a blog post long-in-coming. I kind of wonder if it's been in my heart all along, waiting for today to come. Today is finally here, my friends. And so are you.

If you are reading this, I celebrate that you, too, are HERE. Whatever happened in the past can stay there. We are here, we survived, and we have today to just "be." No marching band to keep in step with, no flags to signal the beginning or end of a race. I've already signed you up for this one!

In my own world, this past week has been anything but complacent. Yes, I write this post with tears in my eyes. This past week, three close friends lost someone they loved; one 25 years of age, another barely 30, and the last in his early 50’s. The two youngest two of these three died from cancer.

Clearly, the medical field has made great strides in some areas of cancer research, yet not enough in others. So many people have lost their lives to cancer, and far too many continue to brave this battle daily. I don't know when a cure will finally be found, but I do know this: we need to find a way to carry on a legacy for our loved ones who are no longer here to do this for themselves. We all know that is what they would want. 

Hugs. I mean humongous, humble hugs that surround and soothe your sensitive soul. I speak about the kind of hug that makes us feel worthy and welcome. A gesture that sparks and strengthens the warrior within us, inspiring our will to overcome our abuse while reaching out to others still stuck in its stinging stronghold.

Sometimes our pain paints a cloud over our real needs. It gobbles up our personhood and becomes a brutal beast that swallows us whole. We become the sustenance for the pain that makes us its prey. Oh, really?