Just a little over a month since Zoë had passed, we were pretty frazzled, but we knew we wanted to continue her battle.  Thank you to Charter TV3 and Hank Stolz for helping us with our mission.  In hind site, I wish I had more media training, because I was nervous.  I wouldn't admit it that day, but it clearly shows.  Watch the whole episode or fast forward to 19:55 to see us!

Thank you to my friend, Katie, at GoPro, who recently donated a GoPro Hero3 Silver edition camera to Team Zoë Athletics.  You have made a good lot of people very happy!

What is Team Zoë Athletics?  Originally Team Zoë Cancer Sucks dot com was started to keep the family and friends abreast of Zoë's health and progress.  After Zoë passed away, we decided to start the Zoë Faye Foundation to continue to honor my baby girl by striking back at MRT and pediatric cancer anyway possible, and as a remembrance to the little girl who touched so many lives.  

As time continues to pass, I want to encourage people that time is precious.  The gift of time is in the present.  Right now.  Not yesterday.  Not tomorrow.  What we do now in the  moment, as the seconds and minutes move along, will determine the whole shape of our lives.  I also want to remind everyone, myself included, that there are factors in the quality of our lives that are within our control and some that are out of our control.  Team Zoë Athletics is an amateur athletic team designed to get people moving literally off the couch and towards a healthier, higher quality life.  Some health conditions are unavoidable, and others such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancers can be prevented by eating well and exercise.  I chose to fight for my beautiful daughters, Zoë and Esmée, and for the health of my friends and family, and friends who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting .  In the process, with our new GoPro Hero3 Silver edition, I look forward to capturing good people moving towards healthier, happier lives.  

This YouTube video must have been somewhere over the rainbow.  That must be the explanation for why I have not seen it before tonight--more than a year after it was published online!  It is very beautiful and I cannot thank the author enough for taking the time to create it and for sharing it with the world.  It seems so long long ago that Zoë left us, but each day I can't help but be reminded of her courage and strength.  I know that Esmée is not Zoë, but they are sisters and Esmée just started to smile on her own this week.  I am so happy to see that she has Zoë's smile.  It's a beautiful thing!  Thank you again, 30Jenny, for the video.  I love your selection of pictures--well done!

When Dr. Repassy of Repassy Medical in Natick, MA started a "kindness tree" in her office, people would write a little blurb on a piece of paper about how one's kindness affected them, or how they were kind to another and pin it on the branches.  Each piece of paper with the different sentiments now fill the tree with leaves of kindness.  The following is something I wrote a month or two ago but pinned on the tree today.  I'll post pictures soon to show how the quotes and stories give life and leaves to the tree. 

Merriam-Webster online dictionary describes Kindness this way: the quality or state of being kind.

Kindness is synonymous with benevolence, grace, and service.

No behavior is greater or superior than a life of service to others.  We do not have to give a lot in order to be kind to another or to serve.  Sometimes the little things have the most impact.  A couple words spoken with sincerity over a moment’s time can really improve another’s mental and physical health.  A few well-chosen words can remove all doubt.  They have the power turn stress into a vapor.  They can lift us up and encourage us to achieve great success. 

A few years ago I was just having a terrible day.  It seemed that nothing was going to make me happy.  I felt that at any moment I would spit acid and breathe fire on anyone who looked at me the wrong.  That was before I walked through the front door of 7-11 to pay for my gas.  A man, around my own age, stopped me for a second on his way out, “Hey, nice tee shirt!”  I was wearing one of my favorite tee shirts that day, and for a brief moment I wanted to yell at him, to tell him to get out of my way, but his nice comment was genuine and it distracted me from my rotten mood long enough that a smile broke across my face.  “Thanks!”  The day ended a hundred times better than it had started.  He had no idea what a great thing he did for me.  His kind gesture made me feel really good.  It is now eight years later and the story continues to make me smile.  The lesson I learned was that that my words and actions no matter how large or small can make someone’s day.