Prayers, Blessings & Wishes for Saint

Lots of love right back at you Cinderella.

You are thaught of and sent bestest vibes very very often lovey.

You continue to be good to you!!! You are a treasure full to the brim with talent strenght beauty.

Keep shining and being your brilliant self, sooooo much love and wonder and adventure in store for you.

Shiny

ps: If you ever come to England, even years and years from now, you have my address, don't be shy, give me a call and pop on over. (pm me if you've lost my address/tel/email- then store them, just in case you cross the pond again)

Take care! xx

Mols, I was at an event last Sat night that brought all my sisters home to me ... here's my writing about it ... Your Mom was soooo with me Molly, honest to God.  Love and hugs to you sweet Cinderella.

Some of you knew about this, some of you didn't.  I went to an event for breastcancer.org last Saturday night and here's an email I sent to other members about the night.  The reference to a gift at the end - I presented Dr. Weiss (the founder of bco) with a spa gift certificate from all "boarders and chatters" (the web site has discussion boards and chat rooms).   ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary McSorley To: home Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2010 9:10 PM Subject: Rock the Ribbon, Sat, October 30th
Rock The Ribbon, a celebration of BCO's 10th Anniversary   Several months ago I was fortunate enough to participate in a video shoot which was being done as part of Rock the Ribbon, the celebration of BCO's 10th anniversary.  That experience alone was one of the coolest things I'd ever done in my life and something I'll always treasure.  There were about 15 to 20 survivors from the Phila, PA area who were interviewed one on one, separately, by a professional film company.  A few weeks ago, I was thrilled to learn that I was one of the lucky women who made the final cut and would be in the video shown on October 30th at the Academy of Music in Phila where Harry Connick, Jr. and his orchestra would be performing.  I was given two front row tickets for the event, and for the after party which was going to be held at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, next door to the Academy of Music.  I invited a good friend/co-worker to go with me and she in turned asked her brother, a hotel employee, if he could get us a room in Center City Phila for the night at cost, which he did.   Last Saturday was a gorgeous fall day.  Joan and I met up at the hotel and had drinks in our room as we were getting ready - little black dresses for us both - for the event.  We then took ourselves to a swanky restaurant for a drink and appetizers before the show.  Since it was Halloween weekend, the streets of Center City were filled with partygoers and costumed adults just out and about having fun.  We arrived at the Academy of Music to find the Philadelphia Boys Choir performing as the "opening act".  What a treat that was - those boys are unbelievable.  A local celebrity and cancer survivor, Lauren Hart, opened the festivities by giving the background of BCO and just relaxing everyone and getting us ready for a good night.  Next up was Amanda Ratcliffe, whose title with BCO I forget but she's one of the directors.  She gave more background info, and a lot of info about Dr. Marisa Weiss, and then introduced the survivor video.  I can't even say how weird it was to see myself on a giant movie screen. Granted, my part was 5 seconds tops, but man it felt long to me!! The whole video is about 5 minutes long I guess, with Dr. Weiss interspersed among the survivors, telling how she is now a survivor as well.  Chills for sure.  Amanda then introduced Marisa, complete with the superhero cape they made her with BCO across the front!   Marisa is such a great speaker.  She detailed many of the advances BCO has made over the last 10 yrs, and talked of their planned improvements and new features for the coming years, like a lot of Spanish translations for many pages.  I wish I remembered the numbers - they were staggering.  Something like how in their first two years, they had 9,000 visitors to the site, and last year there were more than 9 million, worldwide.  I mean, we all know this already, but it still was mind boggling to listen to it all.  And then Marisa introduced our headliner - Harry Connick, Jr. and the orchestra.  Now don't get me wrong, I like his singing and he's not bad to look at, but when he came out onto stage, a mere few feet away from me, I was instantly 13 yrs old and a screaming teenager!  How does that happen to us?  Ha!  What really surprised me about him was his humor - in between songs he'd just talk as if there were 10 of us in the room instead of 3,000!  Yes, it was a sellout. The concert was just awesome - so much more than I'd expected.   So after two hours of great music, ranging from Sinatra classics to New Orleans hot jazz, we moved next door to the after party.  I was thinking it would be about 100 people, and they had said open bar and light refreshments.  Okay - so how about going to the Grand Ballroom at the Bellevue, with many hundreds if not a thousand people, about 10 bar stations, a pasta station, a stir fry station, a slider and carving station, a roasted veggie/munchie station, a dessert station ... this is light refreshments???  And another live band - Philadelphia Funk Authority - very Earth, Wind & Fire style.  They were awesome and got people up and dancing all over the place!  The table settings were gorgeous with their glass and floral creations.  And I've just never seen so many little black dresses in one place before!  When Marisa got up on the stage to again thank every for coming, I seized the opportunity and ran over to the stairs and caught her when she came down.  I told her that I had a little something for her from the chatters and boarders and handed her the envelope.  She asked if she could open it then, and I said I hoped she would.  So she opened the note I wrote, saying how so many of us just don't know how we would have gotten through all this without BCO, and she read it, and made an "aawwww" type sound and gave me a hug - without realilzing there was anything else in the envelope!!!  I told her to keep opening and reading, and when she saw the spa gift certificate, she just got all wide eyed and stared at me with a questioning look, it was so cute   Another hug and she was kind of lost for words for a minute - obviously touched.  I was a happy camper, on behalf of every single one of us.    Someone commented on how she seemed tall in the picture - I was very surprised also at her height!  I'm just under 5'6" and she was several inches taller than me.  And pretty?  Very, very pretty, and a great shape!  She had on a gorgeous purple gown at the event, and then changed into a little black dress - with leather and boots - for the after party.  She'd obviously had her natural curly hair done for the night, and seemed to enjoy the evening every bit as much as all the guests.  Everyone was just so friendly, and I met many BCO staffers who recognized me because they had worked on the video for months doing editing and whatnot, so that was kind of funny to hear people just say "Hi Mary - are you having a good time?" and I had no idea who they were!  And every single one of them asked that - was I having a good time - when I felt like Cinderella and just wanted to kiss all their asses for all the hard work they'd put into the night.  But their main goal was to make sure everyone else had fun.  And don't forget - we're talking about a global company that is essentially run by less than 20 people.  Just amazing.  So that's my story.  A wonderful, wonderful night that gave me memories that - I hope - will stay with me forever (little chemobrain humor there!)  I am honored and blessed to have been a part of it, and I swear to you all - I really did feel like I was a representative ... a very lucky representative ... for all of us.    

here's the link to some pics on Snapfish - if you don't already have an account, trust me - they don't send spam mail and I've used them for years without problem - it's free and just needs an email addy.

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5993429013/a=113703729_113703729/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Love and hugs,

Mary (marlegal)

Cinderella, I'm just always happy to hear from you, doesn't matter which venue you choose. 

Its been a while since I've logged on and it is so good to hear from you Molly! The photos are wonderful, my daughter had been to Ireland and absolutely ADORED it. It sounds as if you are moving in the right direction (which ever way that is) one day at a time. I know it has not been easy, but I truly believe there are some amazing things out there, just waiting for you to discover.

Be well, fondly Elaine

Molly, miss you hon........I think you will be a great writer........

How said, thanks for letting us know Faith, they have been through so much in that family this year, all my sympathy

If we don't help each other, what else would we do? I think of all those who have helped me along the way (knowing or unknowing to me and them) and the only way to repay the gift is to do the same for others. Molly, I know you are just going to shine, and I know we can never ever replace you mom, you have lots and lots of helper moms who are wishing and praying for you and all the good things that are to come!!

Dear Molly,

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Thinking of you lovey on this beautiful Christmas day. Keep on shining bright! You are a treasure.

huge hug filled with all my strongest and bestest vibes.

Shiny

((((((((((((((Greg, Molly, & Luke)))))))))))))))))

Don't know how i didn't see these posts before now.  Greg, I don't know if you still come here now and then, but I hope in my heart of hearts that you know we're still grieving Pat too.  Those of us who were lucky enough to meet her in person will never be able to forget her and we feel her loss so acutely.  I hear her laugh in my head, thank God I can still hear that, but it hurts too cause I can't pick up the phone and hear it.  I pray for you and Luke and Molly often.  I hope somehow these posts are making it through.

Happy Birthday Molly!! Thanks Faith for letting us know. 

You and your family are still in my mind heart and prayers lovey. Big hug.

Molly, as I sit here, looking at my garden with everything blossoming, it is a beautiful sight full of the beauty and  hope that comes from this new season. I continue to send you my most peaaachiest vibes and wish you more joy more healing and more adventures.

Perhaps you will return to England one day, for a Performance of some kind and this time you will come nearer to the South of England. If so, make sure to email me, I shall have a super dooper chocolate birthday cake and a great big hug to welcome you.

Thinking of you with great affection, you are precious in so many ways. That is clear, despite our limitted "access" to you. Your mum's words and yours here, long with your brilliant talent and reserve and resolve make you a true gift I am sure to those lucky enough to be in your life.

You keep on shining Gorgous girl. As ever, be very very good to you always. Every day,every step you take this we know as you do that your mum would want for you. Be your best friend first always be generous with yourself and know you are totally absolutely fabulous and precious, on your best days, on your bad days and on each day inbetween.

bless you,

Shiny 

Dear Pat,

I've been thinking about you continually for several weeks now - and the fact that it's been almost a year since you left us and, although we lived SO far away from one another and saw each other so infrequently, I still can't stop missing you every day.

In the first few weeks after your passing, I was in a really bad way, so I started writing down some of my fondest memories and stories about you and passing them on to friends and family, who seemed to also enjoy reading them. It helped me a year ago, so I will give it another try today on the occasion of what would be your 57^th birthday:

I think, of all the anecdotes of our time spent together, I have still not written about the last one I can remember, which happened while I was in Beloit with you in February last year, because you needed someone as a caregiver and I was lucky enough to be able to be there for you one last time. It was a very difficult 10 days for you. We spent part of every weekday travelling back and forth to the University Hospital in Madison, so that you could get the highly specialized radiation treatment to your brain that you so hoped would bring about one last improvement. You were so brave and still so convinced that you had to do ANYTHING to stay around, but the days were long and hard. Your vision was worsening, your appetite was gone. You were in constant pain and seemed thinner and weaker to me every day, but you insisted on getting up at what you called a "reasonable" hour, so as not to just stay in bed all day (which I know you would have wanted to do...). Whenever I heard that you were awake, I would fetch you a bit of breakfast from the kitchen downstairs and we would start to talk...On one of my last days there, you seemed in a pretty good state after breakfast. While we were chatting away, you suddenly asked me to hand you the basin near your bed and you just spontaneously started vomiting. There had been no warning and it shocked us both with its suddenness. After that, you fell into a really dark place and wept about the fact that you saw it as a sign of the cancer affecting your liver, and said that if that were the case, you knew it would be over soon. Then we both sort of cuddled and sniffled together until you decided to change the subject. We started talking about the musicals we had performed in high school, with you in the chorus and me in the orchestra. You kept asking me if I remembered the person who had played thus and such a role - and we both wondered what had ever become of some of those classmates. You were particularly interested in talking about one girl who had led the "Pick a Little, Talk a Little" number in "Music Man", because, as we both agreed, she had been SO bad - and how DID she get that part anyway...? After that you said "Would you do something for me?" Thinking it would be something important, I, of course, said "Anything."...and you asked me to pluck the hairs on your chin. When I laughed at how silly it seemed, you said you were not going to whither away and die with a beard, no matter WHAT happened...so I got a good light and tweezers and tried my best to comply. While I was in the process of concentrating on your chin, you stopped me cold by looking up into my eyes, face to face - and there it was - that twinkle that I saw for the very last time - and you said "Puke a Little, Pluck a Little!" ... and then we both laughed and cried and screamed at the same time, until we were both breathless. I remember that I was doubled over, so it must have been rather painful for you...

You were amazing. This one moment was the only truly bright one I can recall during my last visit, but when I fall into the dark thinking about you, the memory of it and that twinkle in your eye has kept me going ever since. I don't know where you are, Darling, but I look for that twinkle in every ray of sunlight and every night sky I see. I will probably do that for the rest of my life.

Happy Birthday, my wonderful sister  - and keep twinkling! I will always love you.