“I always think about what I want to share, what I want to give.”
I finish reading, She’s the One, The Source Weekly’s introduction of Cassondra Schindler as Bend’s Women of the Year.
I close the unbleached pages and look up; across the table. Ben is thumbing through The Bulletin, having a hard time finding an article that will genuinely grip his interest. He feels my gaze, looks up and our eyes meet. Mine fill with tears.
Cassondra is one of the most sincere, authentic people I have ever met. Her smile is contagious and her sense of style is one few can compete with.
Cassondra is a good person, doing good for her community and sharing her passions for art and culture and playing nice with the rest of us.
And she is getting credit for it.
How incredible is this place we call home; a place that recognizes the good in others, their honest contribution to the larger community, and celebrates their accomplishments?
How fortunate am I to be sharing community with so many incredible individuals?
My mind turns over and over; excited, moved, inspired. I am once more encouraged to leap outside the box, to grasp for goals far out of reach, to set sights on destinations that lay far beyond the horizon. We only get one shot at this, right?
Still reeling from the overwhelming emotion Cassondra has provoked, I check my email.
My thoughts turn quickly to another fabulous, strong, talented woman.
F#*%king Cancer. Damn.
Talk about overwhelming.
The tears run down my face, completely out of my control. This time it is Ben who looks across the table. I can’t look at him.
“She’s so damn tough.” I mutter under my breath.
My emotions change from sorrow to fear to battle.
This is one fight Cancer will not win.
A battle with this girl is a f*%king waste of time; she is the toughest, most determine woman I know.
If this fight goes anything like a bike race, which I am confident it will, Cancer will get its f#@%king legs ripped off.
So FU Cancer.
Don’t mess with this girl. She is strong, beautiful and has an army of supporters.
She will destroy you.
You will suffer.
So FU Cancer, you don’t have a shot.