Are you Racing for the Cure?  Please say yes  and save next Saturday June 5th for the annual Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure on the National Mall.

The work that the Race does to raise money to fight breast cancer right in the DC area is incredible:

• Last year, the race raised $4.7 million for local education and community outreach programs to assist vulnerable populations.
• Thanks to a Susan G. Komen for the Cure® grant, wait times between biopsies and surgeries at the Washington Hospital Center were cut by 17 percent.
• Another grant increased the mammography screening referral rate for low-income and uninsured women in Montgomery County from 40% to 80%.

But it’s still not enough.

Anyone can sign up for the race at www.globalraceforthecure.org.  You can walk or run the 5K, and even your kids age 5-12 can Race with you!  Heck, you can even Sleep in for the Cure!

You can also participate in the Kids for the Cure short course and activities especially for the kids beginning at 8:15am in the Kids for the Cure Tent.  At 10am is the Kids for the Cure race.

I have participated several of my 12 years since moving to DC and it is a powerful event.  It’s a chance to support the survivors, fight along with the fighters during that hour of walking, feel with the crowds of walkers and runners the magnitude of the war on cancer.

This year, I’m planning to do it with my oldest. Charlie and I are going to Race and participate in the Kids for the Cure together for Susan.  And all the Mothers With Cancer. Please join us.

Today my dear friend Susan Niebur of Toddler Planet will be undergoing surgery to remove a local regional recurrence of the breast cancer she has been fighting since June 2007.  The surgeons will remove the cancer from the lymph nodes under her armpit today, and then she will begin radiation.  Again.

She has already endured a litany of treatments and procedures.  And now she is going forth into battle again.

Susan is one tough mama.

She is also an astrophysicist – a planetary scientist, specifically.  She has worked for NASA and now conducts independent research on space science missions.  She also works to build communities at the websites Women in Planetary Science and Mothers With Cancer.

In honor of Susan’s fight and to express our love, today writers across the blogosphere are posting about ways that they will be educating their children about science.  It’s a TeamWhyMommy Virtual Science Fair.  Because Susan’s love for her family and her passion for science are what define this incredible woman.

Would you like to join Team WhyMommy?   Then head to one of these Washington, DC area activities that will educate your kids about the the universe.  Your field trip will be a living prayer for the health of the best mother on the planet.

Visit the NASA Goddard Center – a great play and learning space for families in Greenbelt, MD that is totally FREE

A visit to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Visitor Center is a a fabulous family outing.  Enter the center and walk through the archway of photographs of the universe from the Hubble Space Telescope, play with the vast interactive displays and models, climb into a real Apollo pod,  and even play with space-travel-themed toys and the dress-up chest.  Watch the “Science on a Sphere” exhibit, a movie of animated data viewed on a six-foot-diameter rotating suspended globe. Both kids sit quietly in awe for the entire duration of the film, which is a testament to the splendor of the production. Even though the show’s subject matter is a bit over Eve’s head, she adores watching the light display. Open Tuesday – Friday 10am-3pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm – 4pm, here are directions to the NASA Goddard Center in Greenbelt, parking is free and abundant.

Montgomery County College Planetarium – free weekend shows and programs

The next shows are Saturday April 17 at 7pm (appropriate for adults and teens) and Saturday May 1 at 7pm (great for kids of all ages). Mark your calendars!

University of Maryland Planetarium Open Houses – twice a month, totally free

The Department of Astronomy at the University of Maryland, College Park hosts Open Houses at the Campus Observatory on the 5th and the 20th of every month. On Open House evenings a guest speaker will give approximately a half hour talk about a topic in astronomy. The talk is followed by viewing of celestial objects through the observatory’s telescopes, weather permitting. If weather does not permit viewing, the talk will still go on as scheduled.  Here’s a link with the upcoming speakers and topics.

Skywatching at Sky Meadows State Park – free outdoor labs with expert astronomers & their telescopes

On Saturday nights in 2010 (April 17, May 8, June 5, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9 and November 6), Sean O’Brien,  the staff astronomer of the National Air and Space Museum’s Albert Einstein Planetarium leads a monthly star-watching at Fauquier County’s Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, VA.  The evening begins with a short night sky orientation at dusk, followed by telescopic observing of various astronomical objects.  Join the stargazers (and their telescopes that will be zeroed in right on the most brilliant items in the sky) for a Saturday your kids will never forget. Sky Meadows State Park is west of Washington, D.C. on US Route 17 North, 1 mile south of US Route 50, or 7 miles north of Interstate 66, Exit 23. The park contact phone number is (540) 592-3556. There is a $4 parking fee per car.

Rock Creek Park’s Planetarium – free planetarium shows for families, with a new projector!

Rangers present curriculum-based planetarium shows for a variety of ages and attention spans several times each week. The addition of the new projector’s power, software and computer-generated and satellite images has opened a new world of opportunities for the domed classroom.  In regularly scheduled planetarium shows, children and their parents can view the celestial bodies visible in the Washington sky without star-obscuring light pollution. The rangers engage the kids with stories of the constellations, and tips on how to identify stars and planets.  “Young Planetarium” shows every Wednesday 4:00PM, “The Night Sky” shows on Saturday and Sunday 1:00 PM, Advanced Planetarium Shows Saturday and Sunday 4:00 PM.  Check the  online schedule for any changes and updates. 5200 Glover Park Rd. NW. 202-895-6070.

Rockville Science Day 2010 - April 25, Noon-5pm, free
The 21st annual Rockville Science Day will have hands-on exhibits in science and engineering fun for all ages. From reptiles to rockets, from chemistry to robotics, from genetics to astronomy, come see what makes science a life-long passion.  At the Montgomery College, Rockville Campus, 51 Mannakee Street, Rockville, MD 20850.

Please forward this list of activities to your friends to encourage them to introduce planetary science to their children, as well as to pray for Susan’s successful surgery and victory in the fight against cancer.  Thank you.

A special thank you to Jean of Stimeyland for organizing this show of support.

Thank you all for the kind comments. I will pass them along to Vivi’s parents at an appropriate time, and they may be reading them and finding comfort.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Vivienne Esme Martin, but Vivi’s mother and father are very dear to our family. As fellow parents, it is impossible to comprehend the gravity of the loss of a child. Feeling powerless grief for Vivi’s parents’ pain, all I could think to do was let other people know her story.

If you would like to help, please pray for Vivi’s parents. Their faith is strong, their courage is incredible, but send all of your spiritual energy to the comfort of this young couple. They miss her so much.

You can also help in the fight to cure very young children with ATRT and other cancers by donating to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Vivi’s mother Mary writes,

St. Jude is a wonderful place, and as I keep mentioning, does not charge families anything for the care and treatment of their children. It costs St. Jude about $1.3m per day to operate, with only about $100,000 reimbursed by insurance. Our time in Memphis was full of hope, positivity and marked primarily by joy, and many people at St. Jude contributed to this with kind, compassionate nurses, the best and most caring doctors and all levels of other staff that put the CHILDREN first, all the time.

If you donate, email me and I will personally match you or find an advertising sponsor to match your donation. I will also donate all ad revenue earned in February in Vivi’s name to St. Jude, so just by clicking here or reading via feed you have helped a bit. Please don’t congratulate me, for the sum will be small and so much, much more is needed.

These posts have been intended to honor and remember Vivienne Esme Martin, an angel baby and beloved little bunny who lived, loved and brought her parents such joy, as well as inform other parents of the urgency to help children with cancer.

Last night my cousin and her husband lost their dear little daughter to cancer. Darling Vivi was almost 10 months old and had Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumors in her brain and spine. The outlook for Vivi’s survival with this diagnosis as an infant was grim. But due to her parent’s ardent love, diligent research, faith in God and committment to do everything in their power to fight for their girl, Vivi underwent surgery and experimental treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Vivi’s life over the next eight months was not only full of treatments and procedures, but smiles, pony rides and thousands upon thousands of snuggles with Mommy and Daddy. From reading my cousin’s blog, I learned that Vivi was one of the most beautiful children that ever lived, had this endearing habit of clasping her little hands, a vast array of spunky smiles, an appreciation for both classic literature and pop culture and was fiercely, supremely, eternally loved. Please pray for these two parents with everything you’ve got.

My friend Susan fights every day for her life. Sometimes she physically fights cancer through agressive treatments and surgeries, other times she privately, quietly fights chronic pain or the darkness of a probable recurrence. Though in remission from Inflammatory Breast Cancer, she lives with pain as a result of her treatments and the knowledge that the cancer will probably come back. But through the pain and that knowledge, she values each and every moment of parenting her boys and family life and her career and outreach to other Mothers With Cancer. Though Susan buys her time on this earth through the willingness to undergo surgeries, treatments, countless tests, her words and actions and gorgeous, bubbling laugh proclaim that she will brave each hardship for the time she obtains with her sons and husband.

When one decides to become a parent, I believe that she is performing the supreme act of bravery. She is acknowledging that she will feel the most excruciating pain in world when either her or her child’s life ends. But she does it, we all do it, because the joy of the time we will have together is worth everything.

But we all need more time. Susan and her sons needs more time. Children like Vivi with ATRT and the parents of these babies need more time. Adult children with parents that are not elderly and love to wear high heels and dance the night away need more time.

Today, the activities for parents and kids that I recommend will not be found on the calendar. They are Prayer. Donation. Action. Compassion. Hug your kids as tightly as possible. Call your parents. Value, enjoy and treasure each and every second that we have together.

Viva la Vivi’s eternal soul and may God bless and comfort her mother and father.

Resolutions, scholutions. Professional success, exercising more, denying yourself yummies, getting organized, spending less, saving more…they take tons of willpower and the results takes lots of time to appear. But goals that are easy AND make you and those around you happy, instantly? Bring ‘em on! That’s why I’m taking the kindness challenge.

My friend Becky just wrote a post on her friends/family-only blog (by the way, starting a password-protected blog for your loved ones is waaay easier than scrapbooking, uploading a hundred photos to Snapfish or trying to smash an entire year into a Christmas card letter) about kindness. Becky was inspired by the incredible Patience – of Kindness Girl and PBS SuperSisters‘ fame – and Patience’s philosophy of Guerilla Goodness. Becky posted on her blog a random act of kindness that she received from a friend and is now committing in 2009 to perform kindness in return. Becky’s own kindness and support and sweet emails always inspire me, so I’ve caught the fever, am totally copying her and am taking the kindness challenge.

You can too. Just post to your own blog or comment here with an act of kindness you have given or received, and promise yourself you’ll (here comes the cheese, wait for it…) pay it forward. Here’s mine, an act by an angel on earth whom I never properly thanked:

I was at the Beltsville CostCo in the middle of December craziness at noon, and on the way out bought lunch for my two kids. We couldn’t find a seat at the tables and so we were standing dumbly around with slices of pizza and a full cart. Of course, the hungry kids started to whine and cry.

Then a mom WITH A NEWBORN got up even though she wasn’t finished with her own lunch and gave us her table. I tried to protest “Nononono, you have a baby! Sit down and eat, you need it!” but she replied that the baby was her 7th and thus shopping with only one made her feel very relaxed. She insisted and promptly disappeared, we sat down, the kids ate and I was saved tantrum city.

So beautiful mom of seven in suburban Maryland, THANK YOU!

And thanks to all you parents that read this little site. Your kindness whenever I see a comment, receive an email, meet you for a playdate or run into you at an event has made my year.

So what about you? I’d love to hear your own kindness stories in the comments or on your own websites!

Special thanks to Becky, Patience/Kindness Girl and the three SuperSisters for your daily inspiration.