Three women

This is a major downer of a post, so go away. You've been warned.

I've alluded to the fact that I've been going through a rough patch lately, mainly having to do with narcissistic thoughts and selfish tendencies that don't amount to much more than irritating background noise and a clouded vision of where I am and where I've been.

It is so miniscule compared to the events of this week, in which real sadness, raw and expected, took place on three separate levels, among the thousands of other losses that take place daily. Cancer claimed the lives of 3 women who are connected to me in disparate ways. The ex-president of the Philippines, the wife of a blogger I don't even know, and my friend's mom.

I think I met Cory Aquino once, when I was younger, as my parents were friends with that family and spent some time with them during their exile in the U.S. Couldn't really get to know them when we lived in the Philippines because Ninoy was in jail. Kind of hard to have a Sunday BBQ when the husband is incarcerated for "treasonous crimes". When he came back to the Philippines he was immediately assassinated, and 3 years later his wife became president. Because of her efforts an entire nation rose up against a tyrannical little man and provided hope for democracy movements in other countries. "People Power" is a household term that is due to her persistence.

Susan in this guy's wife and mother to 4, from all accounts, good kids. His blog was the first I ever read and got me started on this online journalizing. Her fight against this wasting disease provided a platform for her husband to raise awareness and money - over $500,000 so far. Over 2,000 comments in the posting of his wife's passing attest to the care that this awareness has garnered from the electronic community. Far better tributes to this family can be found here and here, among other places for sure.

Mrs. A is my neighbor and friend's mom, who just passed this week. She's the only one of the three that I really know, and not that well. But I do know her through her daughter, who is one of our dearest friends, whose love for her own family spreads to ours daily, as our kids are fast friends with theirs.

Three different women, all loved by casts of thousands, all taken by this awful disease. Eight years ago three other women I know fought and beat cancer, and I am thankful for the fight that my mom, my aunt, and my sister in law undertook.

I hope next week will be better.