The Pink Lady

I have recently taken up shop as a receptionist. It's nothing glorious and seldom are my days eventful, however, I encounter quite a variety of people. Happy, grumpy, young, old, motivated, admirable, and even the occasional drunk. Since I haven't had much spare time to conjure up story ideas and try free lance writing, I decided I would give blogging another go.
Each day I am going to choose the most interesting person I encounter. Man, woman, or child, I have no preference. I just figured since I don't have a job associated with my degree that I would turn it in to one. Well, in my own way. I obviously will not be identifying these people by their real names, if by any name at all. That would be rude, and if I'm not mistaken, illegal. :)
My first "character," if you will, is a lady I met last week. She is actually the whole inspiration of why I decided to start blogging about customers. This lady is practically a walking miracle. I'm going to call her The Pink Lady.

When she walked through the doors of my work I gave her a generic, routine greeting. Her response, on the other hand  almost left me speechless (I don't deal well with confrontation or illness). 
"Well my feet touched the ground again today so I can't complain," she answered.
Now this woman is definitely over 60 years old and at first I almost laugh at her response, assuming she is just another senior citizen exaggerating how age has affected her health. Luckily, before I chuckle out loud, I notice she wears a khaki hat over a pink handkerchief that wraps around her bare head. It is only then that I realize this woman is a cancer patient. Scarves and caps are a red flag for women who are or were cancer victims.
As I continue to chat with this woman I learn she was diagnosed with Bone Cancer, stage four Lung Cancer and Leukemia earlier this year.
"Other than that, they tell me I'm healthy as a horse," she said.
Her humor through such pain is astounding to me. I am intrigued by her optimism and continue our conversation, trying not to pry. She informs me this is not her first battle with cancer. This unfortunate woman has already battled Ovarian Cancer in 2003 and in 2008 she had a double mastectomy compliments of Breast Cancer.Needless to say, this broad is one hell of a fighter!
She furthers the conversation by telling me on top of her illnesses, her husband passed away earlier this year. Now I am on the verge of tears. I am seriously befuddled as to how she presses on each day. Before I could ask her how she just looks out the glass door and smiles.
"I've got the Lord," she said. "I don't know how people live without him."
This isn't a surprising response to me since I grew up in the South where 90% of the population are devout Christians who always give thanks to the Lord and say, 'God Bless You.'
When it's time for her to leave she stands up and I can see she is dressed to the tee in her Sunday best. A colorful pink blouse with complementing heels and jewelery. This is why I call her The Pink Lady. Pink is a peppy, upbeat color and that's exactly what she is, despite everything going on in her life. Her personality is still pink and she wears it well. 
This lady is my inspiration for picking up blogging and really trying to continue my writing. Although I am not at my dream job, I am still only 23-years-old and perfectly healthy so I need to take advantage of every day I am given. She inspired me to put my self pity behind and write everyday. If a woman of her health can carry on each day, then I have absolutely no reason to not write every single day so that I may get closer to my eventual goals.
I will wrap up this first blog by saying thank you to The Pink Lady. I am not a religious person, however, I am thankful that religions and beliefs exist, regardless of what they are, because they allow people like Pink Lady  to endure each and every day.