pretty in pink

i would imagine that most of you know that october is breast cancer awareness month & after last year i could not let this month pass without a mention of some special pink heroes in my life.

in the summer of '06, the week of her birthday, my dearest friend L. had her scheduled mammogram...she was several years past due. don't get me started about my reaction when she revealed this little fact to me...

but no matter, L. was dealt the hand that meant a year's journey of treatments. & this wonderful woman stepped into the journey surrounded with lots of love & prayers. we marveled at how she did what she needed to do, how she handled each day as it came, how she saw her experience as a blessing rather than a curse, how she mothered her 2 beautiful children through it all...her laughter, her tears, her pain, her joy~~~

my first reaction to her diagnosis was the typical, emphatic NO. oh. no....we were so not done living, we are too young for this.

& yet, there it was. the next reaction...down on my knees. L. has been my praying-girlfriend, spiritual bosom buddy for a very long time. a blogging buddy corey recently talked about her reaction to a cancer diagnosis & her thoughts on not "fighting cancer"...she used the imagery of love. that was much like the way L. saw it...she was being made new...her cancer was in the garden that was lovingly tended, reworked, cleaned, fertilized...& beautifully planted.

today...nearly 15 months, lots of chemo, 2 surgeries, & many radiation treatments later, L. is living a joyful life, happy to be at the other end of that year's very long & arduous journey.

she is my perfect pink hero!!!

but she is not the only one...please take a moment with me & salute some other pink heroes quietly doing brave & wonderful things out there...

a group of very excellent folks who took the best care of L.

my sister-in-law, B., an oncology nurse for over 20 years now

leslie, a member of the 3 day walk support crew in philly

maria, a fellow SheWhoBlogs member & purveyor of inspirational posts of her own experience

big bro & little man... of their own accord, both these young men who love to eat yogurt noticed the "save lids to save lives" campaign & are collecting these lids to mail...(please don't tell them i said they were "pink" heroes!)

marie, my nearby hero...who has inadvertantly contributed to what's cooking wednesday with this week's PINK recipe!

Peach-Raspberry Cobbler

*preheat oven to 375

*combine 1 lb. sliced peaches & 1/3 c. sugar, set aside

*combine 1/2 lb. raspberries & 1 T. flour, set aside

*combine 1 c. flour, 1/2 c. cornmeal, 1/4 t. salt1-1/2 T. sugar, 2 t. baking powder, mix well

*add 1/2 t. grated orange peel to flour mixture

*cut in 4 T. unsalted chilled butter to the flour mix until it resembles coarse meal

*add 3/4 c. milk...stir until just moistened

*combine fruit in a 1-1/2 qt. buttered baking dish

*spoon batter over top of fruit

*sprinkle all with 1 t. raw sugar

*bake 25-30 minutes, until golden brown

*serve warm...a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream would be perfect!

please take a moment...educate yourself about breast cancer...please, please, please follow the guidelines for screening...do your breast self exams, get your mammograms, urge the same for those you love...