This was a very special day for me~ even with the rain.
My mom, Thelma June (TJ) Pletcher died from breast cancer back before pink was even assigned as the color to rally behind. My mom lived and died during a time when people didn't talk about breasts, mammograms weren't even developed, and no one talked about cancer, death or dying. She survived living with cancer for years before celebrating survival was cool.
But I choose not to remember my mom this way. I choose to remember her joy. A few things about my mom: she was 5'12"~ my mom refused to be 6' tall. She made all of our Halloween costumes. She got in trouble at the District Conference meeting for our church because she switched out the grape juice for REAL wine for the communion service. The summer after her double mastectomy, we took a family canoeing trip. Goofing around, our canoe flipped and we all went under. A quick, panicked pat-down and look around confirmed that the cotton forms Mom used as breast replacements were floating down river without her. This was at a time when breast reconstruction wasn't perfected.
My mom was also at every game: every softball game and every soccer game, cheering or talking on the sidelines. Not only was my mom at all of our games, she was, to her very core, a classy woman. That's one of the reasons I was drawn to sponsor the Men's Soccer team. Todd West and Kris Hazard are coaching an incredible group of young men. One of the things Todd consistently says from the sidelines, is "honestly"~ meaning take no fouls, win the contest honestly and with class.
Taking on Navy on the way to the Patriot League Playoffs, American University Men's Soccer won 3-0 in a rain drenched game full of class.So, whenever possible, I sponsor events which honor and personify my mom to keep her alive in our memories and hearts.
