i spent about 6 hours of my birthday manning the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society booth at a recent "Women's Expo"... trying to entice other women to join us in supporting the work of the LLS, either by getting involved with Team In Training, or some other LLS activities.

it was a slightly surreal adventure.

beside our booth there was a man and his son selling bamboo towels, across from us a man demonstrating his Korean-style indoor grills, and another trying to attract customers for his home security company. kitty-corner to us was a little gardening store and across from them the Posturpedic bed display...

the really girlie section of the expo had laser teeth whitening, bright green lipsticks that changed to shocking shades of pink upon application, scarves, skirts, pedicure, wigs, lotions, potions, tarot readings, hypnosis, a cat-walk (which had a doggie fashion show going on when i went by to the use the washrooms)...

lots of women touched and oohed and aahed over the bamboo towels. lots of women taste-tested and debated over the Korean grills. lots of women looked over and then looked away as they walked by us.

personally, i found the larger than life cardboard cut-outs of handsome men in wetsuits visually engaging... but it seemed if we weren't selling something or giving away hand-outs, not too many of the expo-attendees were that interested in what we had to say.

a couple women made the day worthwhile though... women who had lost family members, women who had family member who were struggling through, women who had family members that had survived and gone on to have families of their own. not matter how close or far those experiences were to the present day... the grief, the fear, the relief, the joy were all very present at the Expo.

i hope some of the women who took TNT info brochures do sign up. i hope to run with them some day...

***

this afternoon i am scheduled to go spend some time in the local children's cancer ward.

i'm expecting a few tears.

mine, of course.