Tuesday, September 15, 2009

i am nothing like wendy wasserman

you know who wendy wasserman is. She is the incredibly articulate, passionate, and effective congresswoman from florida.

i am nothing like wendy wasserman.

first, she is a congresswoman whereas I forgot to run for public office.

second, she is on tv all the time advocating for important public policy whereas I was only on once, and that was to whine about something.

and third, she recently had a press conference in which she announced that she has had breast cancer for the last year, gone through a bilateral mastectomy, radiation, and several breast reconstruction surgeries. Without telling anyone. Except her husband, who would have, presumably, noticed the temporary absence of breasts. And then she burst into tears.

whereas in three weeks i have now told everyone i know. And am starting to move on to people i don't know. A pool which will never run out, although at some point i may need to start attending large sporting events just to wait in the lines for the ladies room.

i hope wendy--and i can call her wendy now because we are practically like sisters--did this because she is an incredibly private person, and not because she thought she would be less effective as a woman with breast cancer. Because i am sure she paid a price.

hearing the kind words of close friends and new acquaintances, and receiving the hugs or shy inquiries from my students, has been like curling up on the couch with hot chocolate on a snow day. Warm, comforting, and calming. Missing that is not a price anyone should have to pay.

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