Hope is another word for love

Hi all,

I must begin this post by saying, my valentine's flowers were beautiful!!  As were the flowers that my husband bought our 4 year old.  Very sweet.

This weekend I had the great pleasure of speaking at a Leukemia and Lymphoma fundraising event in Boston.  The Gala for a Cure was held on Saturday night and I think I was told that there were about 400 people there.  I was asked to come and share my cancer story with the crowd.  It was amazing!  I have told my story countless times at this point but never to this many people at once and I don't think I've ever heard the room so silent as I spoke.  It means such a great deal to me to be able to give back in this way.  I hope I am providing support for families and patients as well as reminding others why the cause of ending cancer is such an important one to support.  I hope I am giving hope.

This morning my 4 year old finished her breakfast and told me, "Madeline hurt my feelings mommy".  For those of you who remember having imaginary friends and for those who don't Madeline entered our family when G was about 2 and half.  She is the same Madeline as the one in the wonderful children's books written by Ludwig Bemelmans (http://www.madeline.com/).  Madeline is one of 12 young girls living at a boarding school in Paris and we often hear about Madeline and the girls in our house!  Anyway, this morning I found my self asking what Madeline had done to hurt G's feelings.  "She's not giving me any hope" she told me.  "Mommy, hope is another word for love".  At first glance this sentence might not make much sense but when you really think about it, it makes perfect sense and sums up a feeling that I've not ever been able to articulate.  So the next time you are thinking about hope and/or love please remember that hope is just another word for love.

With love,
Elizabeth