Why I still wear my LIVESTRONG wristband

I remember the first time I saw a LIVESTRONG wristband. I was visiting my extended family in Utah for the summer and I was sitting at my aunt and uncles dining room table, it was hanging on the fridge. My uncle had gotten them because his mom had been battling cancer. He bought an adult one, back when they were two sizes-adult and child, for my aunt but she had tiny wrists and it was too big. I loved my uncle's mom and wanted to support her, so I asked if I could have it.

I flew home at the end of that summer wearing my LIVESTRONG wristband. I felt so cool, I remember my dad asking about my wristband a couple days later. We loved watching the Tour as a family and supporting Lance. I don't remember if I remember watching the Tour de France for the first time before or after I got my wristband. But I remember my dad getting LIVESTRONG wristbands for all of us. I remember feeling connected, it didn't matter where we were or what we were doing because we all had that yellow wristband on.

My brother, Nathan, had his LIVESTRONG wristband on when he died in an accident and when we buried him. We were still connected. I remember crying the day a kid at school accidentally ripped my wristband in two. I felt like I would never feel connected to him again. I remember going home that day and ordering another wristband, and checking the mailbox everyday until it came. I remember slipping on the new LIVESTRONG wristband and feeling like my brother was right there.

When all the stuff with Lance went down, I still kept my LIVESTRONG wristband. Because my LIVESTRONG wristband was never just about Lance. It was about being a family and supporting one another. Did Lance make some bad decisions, yes but does that mean we shouldn't support the LIVESTRONG foundation? No! I can tell you each and every time I have taken off my LIVESTRONG wristband. I even worn the wristband in one of my best friend's wedding pictures-sorry about that! I've wore it in each and every family picture.

with my cousins Kira and Brynn

I was at a work party a couple months ago and one of the guys there noticed by LIVESTRONG wristband. He couldn't believe I still wore it. He said as soon as he found out about all the stuff with Lance he tore it off. He didn't want to do anything that would support him. I tried to tell him that it was never about just supporting Lance, it was about my family. Seeing my LIVESTRONG wristband reminds me that I need to live strong because my brother didn't get the chance. It reminds me to make my life count.

I still wear my LIVESTRONG wristband because my brother still wears his.