Angels Angels Everywhere........

About 3 weeks before I left for Tampa to have my Bone Marrow Transplant, my daughter had come home from college for the weekend (UF.....Go Gators!) and I asked her if she wanted to go up to a local park with me that evening, because I had read in the paper that they were hosting a "Relay for Life" sponsored by the American Cancer Society. I have never been involved in anything like that before and wanted to somehow be a part of it. I didn't know if you had to sign up.....didn't know what it would be like.....knew nothing about it really, but she told me "sure...let's go". I put on my black T-shirt that says "CANCER SUCKS" in big white block letters. My family hates when I wear that T-shirt but what a more appropriate place to wear it!! We agreed we'd just stay for a little while to see what's up and then go grab a bite to eat afterwards. Also at this time, and I really hadn't said to much to anyone, I was starting to get a bit nervous about my upcoming transplant. Before, it was always in the future but now I had a date and time for it and now it is for real. I was leaving in 5 days for my BMT pre-transplant testing in Tampa. Kind of a scary time for me right then. So Lindsay and I drive up to the park and drove around trying to find a parking space and in the distance we see some kids playing on the playground and a "bouncy house" set up. We parked and walked up past the playground and came to the park's entrance and we had just walked in when Linz saw a girl she knew from high school. We talked with her for a little bit and then just started to walk around and see what's what. There were tents pitched everywhere, as we found out that the "Relay for Life" was a 24 hour event so people had set up tents and tables all over......sort of like you see at a Pop Festival or the infield of the Races at Daytona!! There was a track laid out so people could walk in a large circle and the track was made out of luminaries and written on them were "In Honor Of" and a person's name. If the person was alive, it just had their name on it and if they had died they had a name and date. Lindsay and I found ourselves holding hands and walking along the track.....just talking and watching. It dawned on us then, that there was primarily 2 predominant color T-shirts people were wearing. The dark Purple shirts with white lettering had "Relay for Life" 2008 and the words "Celebrate", "Remember" and "Fight Back". On the back of the shirts in large block letters the T-shirts said "SURVIVOR". Then there were white T-shirts identical to the purple ones and on their back it said "SUPPORTER". Wow.........we then realized the girl that Linz knew from High School was wearing a Purple shirt. She had had cancer in High School ,Lindsay then tells me. There were also booths set up around the track, as well as a buffet table set up and a stage for entertainment too. Lindsay and I stopped to watch a karate school's students put on their routine and a little girl sing. We went up to the first booth to ask if there was a sign in sheet and a woman asked me if I was a supporter or survivor. Gee......I don't know....what EXACTLY am I?? I asked her if there were any other categories and then told her I presently have cancer and am going for a bone marrow transplant in 2 weeks and was pulling for the "survivor" name!! She then gave me the warmest bear hug and held me for at least a minute and then let go and said......"You look fabulous for going in a few weeks......I know that you are going to be just fine." That hug from a total stranger felt good and it was then I realized I was hugging a "sister" .......a cancer survivor.....something I want to be. She told me to find her before we left because she wanted to give me one of the Relay PURPLE T-shirts because if you currently have cancer and you're here to tell about it you are considered a SURVIVOR! Yay......I finally knew what to call myself, yet I felt it was cheating just a little since I hadn't gone through my BMT yet. Linz and I were getting hungry after another lap around the track, so we went to find the lady who told me she wanted me to have a Survivor T-shirt. She was talking with a 30 ish guy sitting at a picnic table. She saw me walking over so she excused herself to go get me T-shirt and we started talking to the guy she was sitting with. He also was wearing purple and we started to talk about ourselves and a bit about our journeys. He also told me I looked wonderful for going in for a transplant and he said that he had a feeling I would do just great and pull through really well. Wow....what an encouraging club I inadvertently joined by having Cancer!! Little did I know that when I was feeling scared that God would send these 2 angels in disguise to help me feel more confidant about my upcoming transplant...talk about making me better! I got my T-shirt, thanked my new cancer friends, and Linz and I left for IHOP to eat .....my choice.....I was in the mood for one of those thin crepe thingies they have! On the way there, Lindsay and I talked about how God and the Universe works in a way that you may not always get what you want, but you get what you need (thanks Rolling Stones) when you need it. We talked about Angels and how they are sent to us to bolster our courage, send us a message, or signs that the Universe is in our court. We had a great conversation about life and angels and the Universe. We then get to IHOP and the waitress who was seating us says to me......"I like your T-shirt".......I laughed and said "Thanks.......my daughter and I were just walking in the "Relay for Life" sponsored by the American Cancer Society". She then says, "I'm a Survivor" and I then asked her what kind of cancer she had and she told me uterine and that she has been in remission for over 8 years now. I told her that was awesome and that I was going in for a bone marrow transplant in a few weeks and the waitress leaned all the way over into our booth and gave me the biggest longest hug I think I've ever had!!! She also told me I looked great and that I would be just fine after my transplant and to keep the faith. Lindsay and I just looked at each other astounded!! We knew we had already experienced 2 angels today....... and we had talked about it all the way to the restaurant....and now this? WOW........Thank you God for allowing me to share a wonderful evening and conversation with my daughter and to allow us to see together, how wonderful your Universe is and how clearly and loudly you speak to us if we are open to your the message. I came home with no worries about my BMT, because 3 Angels came into my life today.