One week..

Here it is! One week from today I will be walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure event in Atlanta, GA! I've been training since Jan/Feb of this year, and when I hit the streets of ATL I will have already walked over 500 miles in training miles. Woohoo!

My children always notice a pink ribbon nowadays, and breast cancer is almost a daily phrase in our household. They have been so supportive in more ways than I ever could have imagined! We took a short trip to Chattanooga, TN over fall break last week, and visited Rock City. We loved it and my daughter naturally spotted Rock City's support of breast cancer awareness month.

I have had lots of fun experiences during my training walks. My teammates and I jest about some of the interesting things that go on while we are walking. There's always something:  a snake in the path making us jump, or a squirrel throwing nuts at us, dogs barking and nipping at our heels, random people asking us random questions, etc. I've seen parts of Huntsville that I never would have seen before if it weren't for our walks. Some people have gone above and beyond showing us kindness as we walk, and we've been fortunate enough to have opportunities to show our kindness to others. I'm proud to call several women "friend" who were complete strangers to me mere months ago. I've cried on some walks, laughed on nearly all of them, and had some very deep discussions on life, religion, and politics, among other things. I've walked in the sun, the rain and the thunder and lightning. I've walked in almost 100 degree heat and the freezing cold. I've walked until sometimes I thought my feet would fall off. But through it all I've reminded myself that all of that walking is absolutely nothing compared to the pain of breast cancer. So I might as well be wearing an invisibility cloak while I walk because all that walking only matters if they find a cure. That is my #1 prayer and hope through all of the 500 miles and the upcoming 60.

Please continue to pray for strong feet and perseverance. I've been so lucky to have my team, and I'm so very lucky to have the opportunity in one week to share in such an awesome event!

Another reason why I walk

This little boy, my son, has been begging me for the past 2 weeks to get him a team Pink for Life t-shirt. His sister has one and I have one, so I thought it might just be one of those things that he thought he wanted but really didn't want. So, after 2 weeks of nearly every day requests for a shirt, I finally caved and got him a shirt. I wondered if he would really wear it. I brought home the shirt last night and this morning before school he asked if he could wear it. I said sure. After he got dressed he mentioned that his sister had told him that if anyone at school laughed at him he should just ignore them. I asked him if he thought kids would laugh at him, and I was somewhat surprised to hear him say yes, he thought they would. He said that they might think it was "girly." I asked him if he would mind if they laughed at him and I was equally as shocked to hear him say "No!" He then told me that he wanted it to be his show and tell instead of a toy. That's when I started to cry. I told my sweet boy that I was very proud of him for wanting to wear the shirt no matter what anyone else thought of him. I'm pretty sure he thought I had lost my mind since I was boo-hooing all about it, but I really don't care.
I want my children to know that they can do something special. I want them to know they can make a difference, even if it means going against the flow sometimes. I don't want my son to grow up believing that he has to conform to someone else's world view.
On the way to school my son and I had a conversation about whether or not he thought any men walk in the 3-Day. He said that he thought they probably did and that they probably wear pink as well! Here's where I have to give props to all the great men out there who have walked and will walk in the huge event of the Susan G. Komen 3 Day. I know it must be tough to get out there and pink it up with lots of ladies, along with being exposed to lots of...ermm...interesting and creative names for parts of female anatomy. It really goes against the societal view of being a macho man, I'm sure. I'm so grateful that those guys are putting it all out there for a common cause.

So, the countdown continues:
25 days until I'll be starting the walk----YEEPS! 25?!?!?!
447 training miles walked thus far
$3830 raised
Team Pink for Life total money raised to date: $27, 600!

Please pray for strong feet and no blisters! I know that seems very silly, but we walked 33 miles in the rain this past weekend, and blisters were an issue for several folks (not me, luckily!). There's very little one can do to keep one's shoes and feet dry in the rain. Please also pray that I can keep focused on the many reasons I'm doing this. I frequently will say during a walk, "it's better than chemo" and that is so very true. My feet hurt a LOT sometimes, and while it's very easy to get caught up in the pain, it really is NOTHING compared to anything a breast cancer patient has to face. This is not about me or how much money I raise. It's not about if I can walk all 60 miles. It's about doing something for somebody else. I can't wait for the 3 day journey to continue!