Among the flowers

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - Well, I can scratch this one off the bucket list: riding on a float in the Rose Parade. What an experience! Cynthia Nixon is just as lovely, poised and gracious as she could be – the Vera Bradley Foundation was so fortunate to have her telling people about our work. The float also featured other cancer survivors. Devon was on the float and what a survivor she is! Strong and beautiful, she is the type of lady who says ‘bring it on, you don’t scare me’ to her diagnosis. She just never ceased to amaze me during my time with her – I found myself saying, ‘wow I should try that’ about everything we discussed! She also does exactly the same thing I do – when she has a quiet moment with one of her children, she pulls them close, smiles and breathes them in. I love that! Rena was another survivor on the float, a consummate lady. She really showed us all how you can have grace and courage while daring to remove her wig and ride the float with her newly grown chemo-hair. She just has a quiet radiance that I was honored to witness. Her new baby son, a miracle boy with the exact same story as my little Noah, is most certainly a special little boy. I look forward to keeping in touch with my great new friends, and hope to keep you posted on their progress.