I called my mom today...which isn’t different than most days.  But today I called  for a very specific reason: I got my mammogram.  She calls me when she gets hers, too.  You see, we carry a gene we wish we didn’t have.  But that gene does help remind us to be grateful for this day, for the gift of life.  And by calling each other, we keep each other accountable.  My mom’s sister, Sheila, lost her life to breast cancer while I was so young that my memories of her are few and fleeting.  I never got to meet my mom’s mother, because she lost the fight with breast cancer when my mom was still in high school.  Devastating.  And although I never had the opportunity to develop relationships with these ladies, they are still my family, my roots, my gene pool.  This isn’t just another cause to me.  This is part of my story.

Because these branches of my family tree suffered from breast cancer, I’m at high risk.  I can’t control if I ever contract breast cancer or not, but there are still things I can do — things you can do, too.

Purchase ONEHOPE Pink Glitter Edition California Chardonnay here!

You’d have to be blind not to realize October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Pink is everywhere, which is snazzy, because I love pink.  But it’s even more fantastic because so many companies, brands, teams, and everyday people have gotten in on this fight against breast cancer.  We can buy ourselves everything from pink New Balance running shoes to a bottle of pink glitter edition One Hope Chardonnay (it’s not too good to be true, there really is wine with a cause).  I even got an email from my mechanic with the subject line reading 'Brakes and Breasts'—no lie.  And if you’re feeling extravagant, you can even get a hot pink Punch Buggy—too cute!  And with each purchase more money goes toward helping researchers find a cure, once and for all, for this life-stealing disease.

But there’s more we can do.

Something more personal than MLS (Major League Soccer) players wearing pink cleats and kicking pink balls.  Something more powerful than eating pink M&M’s.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all M&M’s and enjoy the pink ones extra bunches...I also get a kick out of seeing macho athletes wearing pink.

But there are things we can do that start with us, that begin with caring for our true reflections.  We can eat right and exercise, because both of those things reduce the risk of breast cancer by 20-40%.  Wow!  Pass the whole grains and my gym shoes (maybe some of those New Balance ones), please.  Not to mention eating right and exercising reduces the risk of a lot of other nasty diseases too.  If you’re over forty-five or have a family history (raises hand), please get your annual mammogram.  And, I know it’s uncomfortable and awkward to talk about, but we have to do our breast self-exams, girls!  When you’re old enough to wear a bra, you’re old enough to do self-exams.  We know our bodies better than anyone else.  We are the ones most likely to discover a lump.  We’re the most likely to know when it’s different than a bump or a bug bite—to know intuitively that something is out of sorts or out of place.

I can’t control if I contract breast cancer, but there are still things I can do — things you can do, too.

How will we know?  Because if we check ourselves monthly, we figure out what normal is.  We’ll know what our breasts are supposed to feel and look like.  So if they’re a little off, we can hightail it to our doctors and have things checked out.

You are beautiful.  God made you.  Take care of that amazing body you were given.

Eat well, exercise, moderate your alcohol consumption, avoid extra hormones, check yourself, and get your mammograms—so hopefully one day your granddaughters and nieces will know you, will laugh with you, and share your stories.