Life in The Pink

Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs
And tho I close my eyes
I see la vie en rose

When you press me to your heart
I’m in a world apart
A world where roses bloom

And when you speak...angels sing from above
Everyday words seem...to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose

- Lyrics to La Vie En Rose

My calf and arm muscles are aching this morning after two days spent crewing at The Weekend to End Women's Cancers. This was the ninth year the event has been held in Toronto in support of Princess Margaret Hospital and the ninth year I have participated. With my walking days behind me, I have now turned my attention to supporting the walkers who make the brutally long 60k - 2 day journey on the weekend after Labour Day each year. The event seems to be suffering a little from waning interest and perhaps some pink ribbon fatigue. The $9.4 million raised this year is just more than half the amount that was raised when I made my first walk in 2004 in what was then known as The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. Increased corporate sponsorship, though, has well compensated for some of those diminished walker funds. Last year Shoppers Drug Mart took over as title sponsor of the event. While that is wonderful, in many ways that sponsorship has changed the feel of the event. For example, our hydration station on the first day of this weekend was located in the parking lot of an very busy Shoppers Drug Mart instead of in a peaceful park where we would normally be located. Shoppers Drug Mart sponsorship signs were unceremoniously plastered on the canapes of our station in dominance of the signs we had lovingly crafted in support of our theme La Vie En Rose. Our working crew was small - much smaller than normal because Shoppers provided some crew for the first day but they were clearly not interested in the work of the event and in the main limited their activities to standing on the sidewalk handing out charms and stickers. But charms and stickers are hardly the heart of what we provided. By the time the walkers had arrived at our first day hydration station, they had already walked 27k and still had nearly 8 to go before the end of the day. It was hot. They were tired and dehydrated and many of them didn't have the energy or dexterity left in their swollen hands to pour themselves a bit of water or uncap a Powerade bottle.

Of all the years I have participated in the event as a worker not a walker (5 times working, 4 times walking), I found this time to be the least personally satisfying. Sunday was a better day than Saturday. We were just our small crew of eight and were situated in a lovely park. We all worked like crazy to serve the walkers who at that point were less than 4k from crossing the finish line. There were lots of hugs and opportunities to speak to people, to encourage them, to really serve them.

Next year, my dear friends Nancy and Aivars are going to walk. They are so much at the heart of our crew that I don't know if we will be able to continue as a crew team without them. Our crew captain Maurice has declared that he won't be back next year. I can captain but I will need to find someone to drive the truck. Any volunteers?