Relay for life

On Saturday night, we joined thousands of others around the country in support of those who had died from and those who are currently battling cancer, in the all night relay for life.
This is a walk that is done continuously from 4pm Saturday afternoon till 8am the next morning. It is shared amongst members of a team, and the baton is to carried around the track for the whole night.
We went along with the kids form 8pm till 10pm, then I continued untill about 3.30am and drove home to wake Rob who walked through till 8am.
It was a late night for the kids, but they got to be there for the candle lighting ceremony... as a donation to the cancer society , for $5 you could decorate a white paper bag, in rememberance of someone who has died from cancer.... this was weighted with sand and then then at night fall the bags were placed around the outside of the track and tea lights placed inside. Then at about 9am the tea lights were lit and all lights turned out.... and everyone walked a slow and poiniant two laps in absolute silence.... a very emotional moment for everyone there.

We arrived just in time to decorate a bag for my mother... Arwen and I had the honour of the decoration task (she just happened to be the only one with me).... I took a moment to watch her delight in making the bag as colourful as she could with all the felts and glitter we had to work with and smiled as I she showed me how a potentially heavy moment could be lightened.
She was so proud of her work and insisted in carrying the ,reasonably heavy, paper bag by herself and was reluctant to give it up to the bag organisers (who said she could hold onto it and chose the spot it was placed in herself if she wished (a wise move given how tightly she was holding onto it!!))



I hold an image in my heart and my head (and later in camera) of this our wee daughter on that cool dark evening ,holding on so tight to the bag that was to shine a light for her grandmother .... a grandmother she will never meet.... but I hope she will always know......