I am thankful for good health. I am thankful for the good health of my family and friends. In my opinion, the great difference, between being young and getting older, is the appreciation for health that allows you to move, breathe, and enjoy life without limitation. As much as I cringe to admit it, I recall vividly as a teenager behaving in ways that arrogantly showed the world I am fine taking my health for granted, because, hey, it sure feels like I'm gonna live foreverrrrr, whoo-hoo!

Ugh. If I could flag down a quick ride on a time machine, I absolutely would so I could shake myself out of that kind of immature thinking.

I had recently learned that co-worker's cancer had come back after a few years of remission, this time affecting her lungs. And at around the same time, I had learned of a family member who, miraculously, discovered her cancer had not come back after the doctors had done a thorough scan of her body. Though I've never gone through the experience as a cancer survivor, it would be foolish of me to ignore these stories that affect so many people around me, both close family and strangers alike.

My close friend, Celez, is doing her part in offering hope for leukemia and lymphoma warriors. I say warriors because in my mind, to be a warrior, implies strength and constant will to courageously fight. Celez's own mother is a breast cancer survivor and come October, she will be participating in a triathlon through Team in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help raise funds for this organization.

Celez has a knack for saying things that forever stand out in my mind, even from the time we were in 7th grade and I barely could pronounce her unusual name. In her latest blog post, she writes about her experience in swim training:

"I'm lucky enough to be healthy and living a life I chose for myself. I'm choosing to make my body swim, bike, and run. However, there are so many people living with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers who never choose to be sick. It's because I respect and admire all of those who are fighting through the toughest moments in their lives, do I just suck it up, get in the water and channel my inner mermaid."

I am proud of her and the so many others who willingly, actively, and unselfishly do their part for causes like this. If you feel led to donate or would like to follow along as my friend Celez channel's her inner mermaid for an awesome cause and trains for the triathalon in October, please visit Celez's Fundraising Page.

Happy Friday and thank you for your generous support. Go mermaids!!

Back when I was a kid, I met another “kid” named Celez who became a very good friend of mine.

Whoa. It just dawned on me that we’ve known each other for about 19 years. Whaaat? Are we really old enough to say things like that?
I remember getting her name totally wrong. She had to correct me about four times before I finally got it right. I kept saying everything from Celeste (which she hates) to Celeeez. It's a miracle I didn't call her Celery.

It still amazes me that though we’ve lead very different lives as the years went by, don’t live near each other, etc., we can still connect as if things haven’t changed from that day in 7th grade when we were trying out for our school's colorguard. (why we ever thought it was cool to twirl a flag in the air, much less get bonked in the face as it came furiously crashing down on us, is beyond me)

Distance has not become a permanent fixture in our friendship--we still connect and laugh about everything. She's seen me through a lot--dumb boys, breakups, family bickerings, a lonely year in another state for college and later on, celebrating with me in the joys of being there for my wedding. And thankfully, she’s remained as wacky as she was the day I met her, and graciously volunteered herself for a photoshoot one Saturday afternoon. Glamour shots, we called them. Her and her pup Coco, the four-legged cotton ball, made excellent subjects and were extremely patient as I adjusted my camera settings for each photo shot and simultaneously tried to make the best of the fading daylight.

Everyone, meet a very good friend of mine, Celez.

Not Celeste. =)