Breast Cancer Resources Center

Traveling while working in Colorado this summer I got to renew my relationship with some high school friends. I was in Kris & Steve's wedding, we were inseparable in high school. Aside from yearly Christmas letter exchanges and a few reunion rendezvous back home in San Diego over the years, we were off living our own lives. I am questioning how that happens, that we become disconnected and also realizing that in the growing and changing, perhaps it is inevitable that we need to go in our own directions for a time.

I am sensing another "book" just on this ebb and flow of relationships but won't diverge down that road right now. I had no idea at the time how the impact of what seemed like a chance connection, would continue to grow. We had a great couple of days spent catching up and feeling like there had not been this distance of some 20 years since our last face to face. Kris has always been, in my mind, an "akuna matada" kind of gal.

I don't think she would argue with me in saying that she has always been easy going, content to be an Indian, never aspiring to be the chief. Don't be mislead, this is not say that she is or was a pushover, she's just... Kris. Fun, easy to be with, interesting and interested but not one that you'd find at the front of a picket line, she is a kind of anti-drama Queen, if you will. Kris was diagnosed with breast cancer several months ago and opted for a radical route; both breasts were removed. When a well meaning friend compassionately expressed her sorrow at her loss, Kris's attitude was a straight forward, resounding, "heck they served their use and there is something wrong with them, what do I want to hold onto them for?" We all do and say what we can. The community outreach has been astounding.

Both she and Steve have spent their working lives in the respective elementary school's where Steve is a Principal and Kris works in administration. Between their two schools, the organization of meal deliveries and support has and continues to be an awesome thing to behold. Karma at its best. They have given a lot to their community and it is being returned twofold. The numbers of women who have and are intimately involved with this "fight" seem to come out of the woodwork. This is a disease that is truly at epic proportions, simply mention the words, "breast cancer," and listen to the stories unfold.

This disease touches every single one of us. A good reason to stand at the front of some picket line, I am just not sure quite yet where that line is, but you can bet I 'll be the one up at the front when I find it. In the meantime, there is something we can all do. Please add www.thebreastcancersite.com to your favorites and click to give free mammograms. It is free, it is easy, make it a part of your daily routine. After her first chemotherapy session she called for a party to shave her head. Kris sent me "the photo" this week. She is calling herself "GI Kristina Jane." She takes my breath away. I cried until there were no tears left. I'd been slammed straight in the gut with the cold hard reality that my friend is un-deniably, no way around it, battling cancer. As I find my breath again I am so struck by her clear and present beauty. I want to say it is her eyes, or maybe her smile, her radiant face that is now un-obscured with hair and I know that's not it. It is simply her presence. And she is present, meeting this disease on her terms, with a tenacity that I would put up against Demi Moore's character of GI Jane any day.

The story goes; a daughter visits her mother, she is distraught with how her life is going, she is tired of fighting and struggling and is ready to give up. Her mother takes her into the kitchen and proceeds to fill three pots with water, placing them each on a high flame. As the pots come to a boil she places carrots in the first, eggs in the second and coffee beans in the last. Without saying a word they sit and watch them boil. After 20 minutes, her mother shuts the stove off. She fishes the carrots out and places them in a bowl. She does the same with the eggs and then ladles the coffee into its own bowl. She turns to her daughter and says "tell me what you see?" A little confused she says, "carrots, eggs and coffee." At this point, she brings the bowls closer to her, and asks her to "feel" the carrots, which she notes are soft. The mother then asks the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observes the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asks the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter, smiling as she tastes its rich aroma asks, "What does it mean, mother?" Her mother explains that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean? I am still finding my way in and out of that hot water and I stand in awe as I have the honor and the distinct privilege of witnessing my friend Kris, be the coffee, sharing her story in how she is "fighting like a girl", giving all she's got and then some. As women, we share our strengths when we share our stories, allowing others to stand on our shoulders.

Please add your voice by helping to provide free mammograms. It is free, its easy, add the breast cancer site to your favorites and make it a part of your daily routine, click to give free mammograms. http://www.onthelevelbuilder.com (c) copyright-Kimberlee Carter. All rights reserved worldwide. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberlee_Carter