Meet my second cousin, Steph.  Up until yesterday, we had only seen each other at bar/bat mitzvahs and those meetings actually didn’t involve much shmoozing.  (I know, hard to believe!)  I have always admired her family’s close relationship, her big eyes, long dark hair, great sense of style, and the funky dance moves that she and her sister always seemed to bust out at the perfect moment.  But other than that, we really didn’t know much about each other.

Thanks to the miracle of social networking over the past few years, Steph and I “got to know” each other from afar, and yesterday, while the rest of Canada was opening xmas gifts, we were able to finally spend time together with both of our families.  We also got to experiment with scarves and head coverings, which was awesome!

Here she is rocking the artsy twists:

Oh, there’s something else you should know:
Steph was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
And something else:
She’s 28, and just got married a little over a year ago.

Yeah… I know.  And you know what?  Incredibly enough, because of this she has started a blog to share her experiences, and it has been bringing people together from all over the world!  She is continuing to be the loving, funny and warm person she always has been, and this horrible circumstance has only enhanced her spirit.

Here Steph is wearing a braided style that makes her look like the queen she truly is:

Yeah, it’s not just Orthodox Jewish ladies that want to learn how to wear headscarves, it is all different kinds of religions.  It is also those who don’t like their hair or need to cut it off for health reasons.  And also those that do it for fashion.  I’m so grateful that I got to share some tips with Steph yesterday… she’s a natural!

Here is the braid from the side:

Steph is one of my heros.  Her courage and vulnerability, her laughter and tears, her joy and pain, her anger and acceptance, are something that I had only witnessed before from afar, but now got to see firsthand… and it was very inspiring.  Thank you!

And last but not least here she is wearing a colourful long scarf, simply wrapped and pinned:

Wow, can she ever work those headscarves!  Doesn’t she look incredible?

Go check out her blog at: passmeanothercupcake.com and if you would like to join me in davening for her full recovery, her Hebrew name is Chaia Rivka bat Tzippah Leah.