Time flies...and life happens.

It's been a long time since I have posted. As we all know with the old cliché, time flies and life happens. The good and the bad. Cancer being the bad and children growing as the good. But it is time to slow down and put pen to paper where my life has been and I hope is going.

I have been reflective lately for many reasons. I watch my boys grow daily. It seems like yesterday, they were tiny and now my 12-year-old is as tall as me with a mouth full of braces and a load of homework. And my seven-year-old is developing a personality much larger than himself. My husband turned 50 this year and I am not far behind. How did that happen?

But I think this past weekend was my biggest reminder of how time flies and life changes. Three years ago, in early 2010, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. The entire year was a bit of a blur. And as I said last weekend to the doctor who gave me the dreaded news that I did, in fact, have breast cancer: "What a difference three years makes."

I saw her at our local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. More than 17,000 people participated and more than $1 million is raised. She, too, is a survivor, diagnosed with early stage breast cancer just two weeks after I was diagnosed. She hugged me as we, along with hundreds of other survivors, assembled in the shape of a pink ribbon in the outfield of a minor league baseball field.

Three years ago, I wasn't physically well enough to participate, nor was I emotionally ready to be involved. But this year, I was honored at the race. Each year, our race is named "In Memory" of someone who has lost her valiant fight against breast cancer and "In Celebration" of a survivor who has made a difference in the fight against breast cancer. Nominated by a dear friend, I was selected to be the "In Celebration" honoree and extremely humbled to be selected and truly honored to be partnered with Komen, a leading force in the goal to eliminate breast cancer.

The year after I was treated, it was time to get involved and pay it forward. Time to do what I do well, raise money and awareness. It comes easy to me and I have done it in the past for the American Cancer Society, years ago when I was just a one-time survivor of osteosarcoma, a childhood bone cancer that resulted in the loss of my left leg and more than a year of chemotherapy. After more than 30 years as a survivor is when breast cancer came knocking.

I signed up to captain a team and along with one of my best friends, created a pink dessert fundraiser to raise additional funds for our team, along with other ways to raise additional funds. I am one of the top fundraisers for the race and volunteer to mentor other team captains each year.

The day of the raise is filled with joy and celebration with friends and strangers. I also find it to be a day to honor those who have come before me and not survived. They inspire me to work hard, to raise more money, to education more women. I feel a sense of responsibility. If one women gets a mammogram after hearing my story or I give hope to one women struggling with her diagnosis, it is worth it.

So I soaked it all in last weekend....standing before hundreds of survivors as they listened to my story, leading the survivor parade to the main stage to be recognized before the race began....with my husband and children beside me. I will continue to work until we live in a cancer-free world. And I am blessed beyond words. I just received good news after my usual 6-month check-up and scans that I continue to be cancer-free. 

What a difference three short years makes as time continues to fly and life happens.