Fight Like a Girl

Not only am I the mother of all boys (four to be exact), I am also the sister of two brothers (no sisters for me).  Boyhood smells, sounds, sights and visions have encompassed my life since my first baby brother was born about 36 years ago.  To say that I have had an impact on all of these boys’ lives is an understatement; the princess, the queen, the “only” girl.

But I also come from a long line of strong-girls.  My mom, my grandmothers, aunts, cousins, friends.  All had an impact on my life and helped me know what it was to be a girl.  My thoughts on being a girl have changed over the years though.  It is not about doll houses, cooking in the kitchen, shopping at Target and snickering with girlfriends.  It is about fighting.  Fighting for what you love. Fighting for what is meaningful to me.  And sometimes even fighting for life.

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My mom did just that; she fought the fight.  She fought breast cancer with gusto, with my dad in her corner, wiping her brow.  Radiation, chemo, pure evil illness that lasted for years and still has lingering effects.  My mother in law fought the fight.  She tried a new type of treatment brought to us by science that killed the cancer quickly, but not painlessly.  My father-in-law brought her to all of her appointments and cheered her on from the sidelines.  

When my boys’ schools asked the kids to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness yesterday I was much obliged.  I didn’t have time to run all around town for pink t-shirts and the pink shirts at Target were cut for girls.  So I went with the closest to pink in the boys’ section … maroon.  Then I edited a picture with the two very important cancer survivors and their supporters .  I printed it on iron-on transfer paper and made Breast-Cancer Support very real for my boys.