A Good Day To Be Sad!

It was a beautiful day - a bit chilly in the morning but as the sun rose over Washington DC the day warmed up a little. I was downtown with my family participating in the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation's 'Race To End Women's Cancer'.
It's been 4 months since my mother passed away from Ovarian Cancer. It's hard to believe that it's only be 4 months. She had planned on walking in the event; she liked to plan ahead. My family went down and walked in her memory, along with several of her friends, and colleagues. We were all members of 'Team Sue'.

It was a beautiful day. There were many smiles, many tears, and too many hugs to count. We walked the 3K and then milled around the plaza sharing memories, taking pictures, and eating bananas. It was a day that I knew my mother would've enjoyed. There were many times during the course of the day when I longed to hear her laugh. Many times during the day when I know she would've been laughing, smiling and enjoying the event.

It's the combination of the grief and the happiness that often gets to me. Yesterday Sara, Bert and I walked around the city. We ate lunch, and had a few cocktails and then walked around the National Mall. We visited the monuments and the memorials. We had a good time but it made me think of visiting DC as a child and having my mother with us. We, the family, went out for dinner last night with my Aunt Anne, Mom's sister, and we had a good meal and enjoyed ourselves. I missed having my Mom at the table with us. Even as we were enjoying ourselves we were missing her. At the race today as people were talking to me about her we all smiled, and laughed but the tears were there, too.

It was a good day to walk the race. It was a good day to be with family. It was a good day to remember my mother. It was, indeed, a good day to be sad.