Saturday, April 9, 2011

Pink Ribbon Scars

In continuation of yesterday's morose musical theme, today's post is about another song that I heard last week that is also sad for me: the Smashing Pumpkin's Today.

In 1993, the summer when the hubby and I got married, friends Jack & Gisella (or as the priest who officiated their wedding called them, Gary & Regina) were planning to come our wedding from CO. Instead, Gisella had been experiencing some significant back pain and, when she went to the doctor, they discovered that her breast cancer had spread and she would be undergoing a new treatment that included, ultimately, a painful bone marrow transfer.

The big hit of that time, Today, will always remind me of the juxtaposition of my wedding and the sadness of Gisella's illness and death a handful of years later.

Today is the greatest
Day I've never known
Can't wait for tomorrow
I might not have that long


The last time that I saw her, my girlfriend DeeDee and I drove down from NYC to DC where Gisella lay in a coma in the hospital. Not at all how I would like to remember her. Instead, I picture us hanging out in the art studio at SU or meandering through the shops in Breckenridge. And I remember her to my kids often because she had a sweet habit of literally running and jumping into her bed every night like a little kid -- something that Son #2 likes to do, on occasion, too.

So that's how she's still with us today. Charming. Endearing. And missed.

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