I am tremendously grateful for the wonderful friends in my life. They make each day special, whether it is by sharing a laugh, being ready with an extra hug when needed, or indulging my next crazy idea.
Yesterday, they went above and beyond.
I had gotten a call earlier in the week from Adrienne Bennett of WABI/TV who was interested in doing a story on our Boob-a-Thon. Would we be willing to share our story, she asked. (Yes!)
And could I get a shop full of knitters willing to be on TV - knitting and talking about boobs - in a couple days?
No problem I said.
As I hung up the phone, I said a silent plea - please don't let this be a problem. Think of all the women we could reach with this story. All the breast cancer survivors we could tell about this simple little knitted way to feel a bit more normal. All the people we could get to talk about boobs, about breast health, about advocating for themselves.
While getting a crowd on a Thursday night is never a problem, making sure people could arrive before 4pm wasn't quite so easy, what with work and home schedules.
And yet, they came.
They left work early.
They went into work early just so they could get out in time to advocate for the cause.
They told their bosses about the knitted knockers and asked for time off.
Schedules were rearranged. Distances were travelled.
I am forever grateful to them all. It was a wonderful night. Adrienne and cameraman, David, couldn't have been more charming and supportive. How many people would bury themselves in boobs on tv to raise awareness?
Thank you both for spending the evening with us, and for helping us get the word out!
And a million thanks to knitters behind the knockers. You take my breath away. I have a hard time expressing what these knitted boobs really mean. They are a piece of normal, when disease has stripped away all that you knew to be normal. They represent strength, and the ability to reclaim yourself just when you feel like you've lost all control. And they get people talking. The more we talk about this disease, the better able we will be to discuss it when it really matters - when we are sitting in the doctor's office.
We're approaching the 100 booby mark. I'm confident that we'll hit it, but I want to see how far we can knit past it. So, we've decided to extend the deadline for the Boob-a-Thon to the end of August. Every knocker you knit and turn in at the shop enters you into a drawing to win some seriously cool prizes. So keep knitting!!!