Grey Lives Matter

I went to an essential oils party recently with one of my best friends.  Having heard so many health benefits (and ways to avoid pharmaceutical medications), I've been interested in trying them for more than a year.   Since my friend has been using them and just started selling them (and, I'll be honest, 90 kid free minutes with the allure of smoothies and a spa facial), I happily went on my way...

UNTIL I heard the sales pitch...which pretty much consisted of "You gon'die unless you use this very expensive stuff instead of the stuff at the market."  She handed out pamphlets at the beginning telling me a hundred ways I'm giving my family cancer before breakfast, she told me all the ways she's switched to using safer products, and why I should, too.  Now, mind you, I've been gradually switching to "all natural" products over the course of a few years, and considering my husband has a brain tumor, the scare tactic wasn't lost on me.  However, instead of motivating me further, it kind of made me mad.  I actually thought about it for days, and then I had to start asking myself why it bothered me so much. This got me thinking....

If you are unaware, my family, friends and I are walking in the Central NJ Brain Tumor Walk on Saturday April 2 (on the boardwalk in Asbury Park), hosted by the National Brain Tumor Society.  Not only that, but Kenny and I have been given the opportunity to join the planning committee (which we are super excited about). While we don't really think of it in those terms, every time we reach out and ask for support from our community, essentially it's a "sales pitch."  So we tell our story, time and again, in the hopes that people will be inspired to rally donations.  I had someone recently tell me that we should tell our "sad story"- it gets people hooked, it gets money flowing in.  While I'm sure that person may be on to something, I respectfully refuse.  Is it sad sometimes? Sure, sometimes it's sad. Sometimes its lonely, scary (natch, terrifying). BUT, on the whole, if I look at my family, and my life, it doesn't look so totally different from yours.  My kids are happy.  We have our moments where our stress levels might spike a bit high, but on the whole, Kenny and I are happy.  We do things everyone else does...dinner with friends, help our daughter with her homework, plan vacations, he goes to work, I handle the house (well...I used to...now I mostly just try to keep the laundry pile below Empire State Building heights and get some form of cooked food on the table at night- although I'm not above serving cereal if it's been a particularly busy day). My commitment to finding a cure (and I am committed), doesn't include requesting pity.  I don't want your pity, I want your donation. I want your time. I want your support. And don't do it because you think we are so sad, do it because grey lives matter.

I'm not going to attempt to scare you.  In fact, the whole purpose of why I'm doing everything I know how to help find a cure, is so that no one ever has to be scared of it, ever again.  Odds are greatly in your favor that this won't happen to you, so fear should not be your great motivator.  But do it because it matters.  Trust me when I say, it does. Every dollar, every quarter, every penny- it matters.  Because my husband's life matters.  Not just because he's the love of my life, a great dad, a loyal friend or a loving son- but because it just does.  Just as the other three survivors seated at the table at the planning committee's lives matter...or the people seated in the waiting room at MSKCC's lives matter; or the people who we will be walking side by side with at the brain tumor walk.  They all matter. And with a little help from our friends, all things are possible.

So with that, I wanted to respectfully request your time (lets get those legs walking!), your donation, and your help in getting the word out about our event.  This year is the inaugural year for a NJ walk, and the committee is putting forth such an incredible effort to get it off the ground.  I'm not only honored to be helping the committee, but have been asked to make a kick-off speech before the walk begins (GULP!).  So if helping beat brain cancer doesn't wet your whistle, maybe the possibility seeing me stutter in front of 6-800 people might enthuse you.  We appreciate any and all effort from our family, friends and community.  So share my friends!  Share the link to the Central NJ Brain Tumor Walk.  Share the link to our team page (Mind Over Grey Matter ).  Share this blog post.  Feel free to share our story. Help us spread awareness that grey lives matter!!!