Relay for Life

A couple weekends ago I packed Lena up for a quick overnight in Newcomerstown for the annual Relay for Life.

 

 

Attendance has decreased since Mom and Dad's church team first got involved in this worthy event years ago.  Back then, Lee Stadium was packed with tents and teams and people walking the track all night long to raise money for cancer research.  You could barely find a parking space in the nearby field, let alone in the high school parking lot.  But participation has slowly waned as the years go by, which is unfortunate.  I realize it must be a tremendous amount of work to plan for and pull off an event like that, especially in a small town like Newcomerstown.  But I sincerely hope new people step up to breath some new life into the Relay.  It's so worth the work.  

 

One thing that hasn't decreased is the spirit of the people who do show up, the people who give, the people who fight and survive, the people who honor those whose battle was lost.  That spirit of hope and remembrance and honor is alive and well.  I could feel it as we walked the track in silence, in the dark, the only source of light the glowing luminaries marked with names of people who cancer has touched or taken, and the only sound their names being read.

Mom's name is there now.

 

As are the names of too many family members and friends.