The Village is done, and I’m exhausted. But I keep going back through the pictures instead of doing the resting I keep saying I’m going to do.
There’s Mojo in front of the welcome sign, the tables covered in survival kits, pictures with people I love, and hugs I’m so glad somebody caught on camera. After spending so much time trying to get everything ready, it feels a little strange to look at those pictures and realize it actually happened.
For those of you who mostly follow along here on the blog, the Village was a free community day for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and their families. We had resources, vendors, activities, raffles, survival kits, and a whole lot of people willing to help. I’ve been quieter here because getting it ready took up a lot of whatever energy I had.
And I’m so glad I did it.
I wanted families affected by cancer to have a day they could come out and enjoy. Somewhere to find support, pick up things they needed, and spend time together. Seeing people there after months of planning was emotional. I knew why I wanted to do this, but getting to actually see it happen was something else.
Those pink bags lined up across the tables are one of my favorite things to look back at. I know how much went into filling them. People shopped, donated, packed, picked things up, and kept asking what else we needed. All of that added up to something we could hand to another person going through cancer.
When you’ve been sick for a long time, you remember the people who made things a little easier. I hope we got to be some of those people for somebody on Saturday.
To all of our sponsors, thank you. You gave me a lot to be grateful for, and I hope you know how much your support mattered.
Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza, Tire City of Volusia County, Arrow Service & Towing, and The Cathey Team, thank you for helping me turn this into a day we could actually give our community. It’s a big thing to ask people to believe in an idea before there’s anything to show them. You did, and I’m so grateful.
Thank you to Radiology Associates, Angelic Radiance, Dr. Aspen Coggins, Miller Screens, Bizy Beaver, Sessions Hair Co., Miller Law Firm, Port Hole Bar, and Rare Seen Strong. Every contribution helped us put this together. I hope you look through the pictures and see how much you were part of.
Aspen, thank you for cohosting, sponsoring the dunk tank, and helping me keep things going on my bad days. It meant so much to have you beside me through this. And thank you to Coach Matt Cleveland and Elmer Mason from Spruce Creek baseball and softball for being such good sports and making it so much fun.
To my family, thank you for everything. For helping with the event, listening to me talk about it constantly, and being there when I was tired, stressed, or trying to figure out how I was going to get everything done. You saw how much this meant to me and helped me get there. I love you, and I’m so grateful I got to share this with you.
Pete, thank you for helping me through all of it and for being there when I needed you. I know the Village took over a lot of our life for a while. I’m so glad we got to see it come together.
Thank you to our volunteers, vendors, resource organizations, and everyone who donated supplies, toys, raffle items, or their time. There were so many things that needed doing, and so many people who stepped in to do them. I couldn’t have pulled this off by myself.
Peggy Heiser and Stella Mialki, thank you for Stella’s Bloom Bar. It was such a beautiful addition, and I loved having it as part of the day.
Lunar Studio, thank you for the photographs. I was trying to be in about twelve places at once, so getting to see moments I missed has been really special. You’ve given me pictures of people and hugs and memories that I’ll always be glad I have.
And to the cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and families who came, thank you. I know getting out of the house isn’t always simple. Sometimes you don’t know until that morning whether you’re going to feel well enough. I’m so grateful you spent your day with us, and I hope you went home glad you came.
Supporting Live Like Cameron and including children and families affected by childhood cancer meant so much to me. Alex’s and Brayden’s parents, thank you for contributing toys and helping other families while carrying so much yourselves. I don’t take that lightly. Your kindness meant more to me than I can explain.
Now that the event is over, I also owe my regular readers a little catch-up.
Treatment is still very much part of my life. We timed things so I had the best chance of getting through the Village without feeling too sick. Now it’s back to treatment, and I’m expecting a rough couple of weeks.
I wish I could say being this happy about the weekend makes me less worried about feeling sick again, but I’m still dreading it. I know the nausea, pain, fatigue, and all the little things that make normal days harder. Knowing what to expect doesn’t necessarily make it easier to head back into it.
And between treatments, I’m still dealing with lupus and autoimmune flare-ups. Sometimes the treatment side effects ease up and I’m hoping to get a few decent days, but my body has other things going on. It gets frustrating trying to work out what I can handle when that keeps changing.
Planning the Village happened around all of that. There were days I could get a lot done and days I needed help with things I wanted to do myself. Sometimes I’d feel a little better and immediately try to catch up on everything, then realize I’d used up more energy than I had.
I don’t always know how to pace myself. When you spend so much time feeling sick, it’s hard to finally have a better day and spend it resting just in case. I want to get out. I want to see people. I want to do the things I’ve been thinking about while I’ve been stuck at home.
So when I look at these pictures, I see a day I really wanted to be well enough to enjoy. And I got to be there. That means a lot to me.
There’s also something I’m excited to share: the Mojo & The Mess Foundation, Inc. is being finalized, and the Village will be an annual project of the foundation.
We’ll be recruiting volunteers, collecting supplies, and working on survival kits year-round. I want us to keep finding ways to help patients and caregivers beyond one day on the calendar. I’ll share more about getting involved as everything comes together.
For now, I’m going to try to rest, get through treatment, and let myself enjoy what we did before getting too far into the next thing. Although, if you know me, you probably know I already have ideas.
Thank you for helping me make this happen. Thank you for showing up for these families and for me. I’m tired, I’m emotional, and I’m so glad I have these memories to take into the harder weeks ahead.
If you’re new here, or you’ve mostly been following the event, here’s where to find the rest:
Blogs
My life with cancer, treatment updates, love, grief, humor, and whatever else I need to talk about that day.
Resources
Information and support for patients and caregivers, gathered together to make finding help a little easier.
Keep Mojo & The Mess Going
Ways to support this space and help keep the blog and resources available. Thank you to everyone who helps me keep doing this.
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Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of our village.
With love,
Izzy & Mojo 🐾
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