This page has very little to do with my cancer journey, but it is a vital part of my life, so I'm adding it to my website. Before I start, I'll explain that I've answered to my middle name, Kay, all my life. My first name is "Ila". I've become quite accustomed to the name "Ila", as that is what most all the medical personnel call me. I hear that name A LOT!

A couple of years ago, before we knew that I had cancer, my daughter, Tiffany was working at a craft show without me (which doesn't happen very often). A beautiful woman came by and visited quite some time with Tiffany and ended up asking if Tiffany would do a little project for her. When they exchanged names, Tiffany was surprised to hear that the lady's name is "Ila".

"My mom's name is Ila!", Tiffany exclaimed. "It will be fun to get together for coffee. I've never met another Ila in my life." So they made a date to get together for Ila's project and to have a get-acquainted coffee.

Before the coffee date arrived, Tiffany met another lovely woman at a show (again without me). As they visited, Tiffany told the "Ila" story. The lady said, "Well, this is going to surprise you, but my name is Leila." Of course, she was invited to our coffee meeting.

My dear neighbor's name is Nila, so we invited her to coffee as well.

We laughed and called ourselves "The Ila, Ila, Nila, Leila Club" (try to say that really fast three times). Tiffany said that she was going to make a nametag that says, "My name is not Ila" - of course we had to have her be part of the club, because she's the one who got it all started.

As time went by, our first Ila met two other Ilas and invited them to join us, so we now just call ourselves "The Ila Club". The pictures below are missing Leila - hopefully I'll get her in here someday soon.

One time, my twin cousin, Twila, was in town, so we thought we should include her, but she lives too far away to really be a part of the club. Note about twin cousins: our dads were brothers and our moms were sisters and we were born within 3 weeks of each other, so they named us as twins. Ila Kay and Twila May. They always called me "Kay" and called her "Twila" - go figure.

Mostly the Ilas get together for coffee a few times a year, but occasionally we do other things together. Ila Dubois has become a very close friend to my family, and we see her quite often. Ila Leavy sings in the Greeley Chorale, so we go to some of her performances together. At "Pops and Pasta", we reserve an "Ila" table. We're always on the lookout for other women named "Ila".

Left to right: Ila (Kay) Anderson, Tiffany ("My name is not Ila") Koehn, Ila Daniels., Ila Leavy, and Ila Dubois

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