Bounce is a big word with three important meanings in it.
The first meaning is straightforward and is obvious by looking at the picture. Bounce. Have fun. Enjoy. Just look at the smiles on Baird and Finn’s faces. If you look close, you can also see a part of Finn’s pee tube sticking out of his pants.
But bounce means more. Bounce also captures Finn’s indomitable spirit. His amazing ability to shake off the medical and move forward. It is a theme that infuses many of the pictures. Finn kept going till he couldn’t. Like I said, Run Jump Bounce Dance Sing Love Smile and Ride is easy when its easy. Finn did it when it was hard.
A taster to make that point more clear. In May 2008, Finn had a biopsy of a metastatic cancerous lymph node in his groin. It wasn’t a major surgery, but it was an invasive one. Dr. Afshar told us that Finn was not to walk on Friday (the day following the biopsy). We told Finn not to walk, so Finn crawled. Dr. Afshar told us that Finn shouldn’t run on Saturday. We told Finn not to run, so Finn walked. By Sunday, Finn had free rein. He was still a bit slower than normal (noticeably limping) but this did not stop him from climbing all over some hay bails or playing street hockey on the cul de sac. That boy could certainly bounce.
But there is another meaning to bounce. To understand that you need to know a bit more about the Bounce picture, a bit more about Finn, a bit more about Sarah and a bit more about Baird.
The Bounce picture was taken in April 2008 after the Shave for the Brave in a bouncy castle in the parking lot at Children’s Hospital.
If you look back at the Jump picture sent with the last email, you may notice that Baird’s hair was not all that much longer than Finn’s. That is because in July 2007 Baird shaved his long curly locks for Finn and raised over $10,000 for Balding for Dollars in the process.
So jump ahead to April 2008, and Baird, who has been growing his hair since the previous July is going in for shave number two. Again in solidarity with his brother. Again raising money for Balding for Dollars in the process.
Leading up the Shave for the Brave, Sarah insisted that she wanted to shave her head for Finn and all the other families with cancer. That was a big thing for Sarah. Sarah was only five at the time, but as a result of cutting her own hair in December 2007, Sarah had been called a boy a number of times and didn’t like it. Sam gently reminded Sarah how she didn’t like being called a boy and how if she shaved her head she might be called a boy longer. Sarah thought about that for a while and told me that she had decided she wanted to do it, but wasn’t going to tell anyone until the last minute in case she changed her mind.
When we arrived at the Balding Event on Saturday. Sam showed Sarah a few shaved female heads and pointed out to Sarah that this is what she would look like for some time and that it would take about a year for her hair to grow back to its current length. Sarah was resolute. Sam reminded Sarah about her concerns about being called a boy. Sarah was adamant. And soon thereafter, like Baird and I, Sarah was bald.
Then came Finn. Finn who had been only growing his hair since February and his last chemo treatment. Finn who had precious little hair. After watching Baird, Sarah and I get our heads shaved, Finn insisted he be allowed to join the family fun. Sam was a bit reluctant to see the half centimetre of newly grown hair go, but I was happy to see the hair come off as a result of an electric razor instead of chemicals. Sam was touched and very proud of the kids’ solidarity in their “Fight for Finn”. The Bounce photo was taken that same day.
So the least obvious meaning of bounce is perhaps its most important. Bounce is about loyalty. Bounce is about sticking together and damn the electric fence. Bounce is about a mother/wife being so proud of her kids because they did it together. For each other. A real team.
And Bounce for Team Finn? Bounce is about all of the above meanings, but by a wide margin Bounce is about loyalty. Bounce is about the fact that Team Finn does this together as a Team. Bounce is about 100 Team Finnsters crossing the Finnish line together. Bounce is about a group of us going back to ride in with Mike and Doreen. Team Finn is all about loyalty. Team Finn is all about Bounce.