After reading my recent posts about my bra-flinging pals, another friend emailed an honest comment: “Sounds fun, but what’s with the bras, exactly? I don’t really get it.” It just goes to show that even those of us who have trained and worked as professional writers can come up short from time to time in offering adequate enough explanations to keep our readers with us. So for anyone who was a bit confused, including those smiling but perhaps uncertain neighbors of ours, here’s an excerpt of the explanation I sent to my friend. It proves the back story often is as important as the front story:
I don’t know exactly how the bra thing started, but …to me, it’s a symbol of womanhood, of seizing the moment, of celebrating life and not taking it too seriously. A lot of our zaniness began around the time a friend of ours was dying of cancer. Especially after her death, we started celebrating birthdays like there was no tomorrow, because we knew that might be the case, as it had been for our friend. Birthdays began to mean something very important to us all after we lost one of our own, and although the bra thing had begun before then, it picked up steam afterwards. … I thought I would dread the day the bras showed up at my home, but the opposite was true. I felt honored. … Definitely something that wouldn’t work well in a smaller crowd, but there is power in numbers, and I do think life should be celebrated.
With that, I will return to the business of writing about parenting. Look for my next parenting column in this week’s issue (Tuesday edition in the newly revamped LIFE, formerly Valley R&R, section) of The Forum newspaper (http://www.in-forum.com/).
Cheers!
Thank you for the further background. I didn’t have any questions myself and now see I “got it” and am happy that I interpreted the meaning well. Funny to me that I didn’t even question it at all either. I find as I grow older I’m less inquisitive. But I’m happy still to read about it and am glad someone asked. I did know this friend that inspired so deeply but feel I know of her spirit through all of you. And even though our paths did not cross I feel she is still now a living example of how to live life. I am only now beginning to recognize how deeply her loss much have impacted all of you… but the way you honor her not in sorrow but in joy is beautiful to me.