Nature's Notebook: October 2015

~~ It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month ~~~

I have the perfect office for the occasion and needed just the right cause to go with!!

My grandmother was an extraordinary woman. She was a lady with a great deal of class, and a hearty helping of sass. So many of us aspire to the poem "When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple," well, she and her red hat and purple sequins were the embodiment of everything that delightful piece of literature encourages us to become.

She was also one of those rare spirits that made everyone who loved her feel like they were her best friend, she had such a special gift for making you feel adored. We lost my grandmother on October 5, 1995. It's no coincidence I'm sure that the big reveal and the launch of this exciting project so closely coincide with that 20 year anniversary.

In the days leading up to her passing, one of the very best of my grandmother's best friends was there at her side, talking to her, reading to her, and praying with her.

Up to this point, I'm sure you are thinking, "Gee Courtney Noelle, that's a really sweet story, but what does that have to do with your big reveal and the launch of your new line?"

Well, as previously mentioned, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and pink (being the power color it is) is something of a signature color for me. And to top it all off, that amazing friend who was a kindred spirit to my grandmother from the moment they met through the moment she left this earth, and beyond I suspect, was also here in the first moments of the creation of my office. Thank goodness she convinced me to throw away my old desk and start from scratch! That amazing woman has also fought her own battle with breast cancer.

Through radical surgeries and grueling chemo treatments, whenever she is asked how she is, she simply smiles and says, "I'm great and grateful."

Unfortunately, once all of her treatment was complete, the ripple effects of that insidious disease were not yet done with her. The surgeries left her in debilitating pain, to the point that she couldn't even breathe properly.

I wanted to do something this month to help those who contend with breast cancer and I couldn't sort out what that should be. Perhaps it was my grandmother who whispered in my ear, but it came to me all at once. Rather than donate to an organization where the money may or may not directly benefit those who thrive through Breast Cancer, I would like to know our contribution makes a direct and immediate difference.

As we speak, my grandmother's friend is enduring multiple very difficult surgeries to repair the damage done by the first series of surgeries and the cancer itself. On top of all of the other consequences of confronting this treacherous and crafty disease, the financial impacts are quite impressive. So, for the month of October, 15% of sales will go directly to help provide this wonderful woman with a pain-free, cancer-free, life; a life fraught with opportunities to thrive, be blessed, and be a blessing to others.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS AND FOR MAKING A CLEAR DIFFERENCE IN A LIFE!!