I'll put up some new pictures of the kids as soon as I can find the cords to download the pictures.
Gorgeous, aren't they?
Monday, May 28, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
I'm a bad mommy...NOW I'm a better mommy
The last week of my life was super crazy between final grades, trying to cram together my last bit of fundraising (thanks Tom, Anna and Stef for putting me over the top!) and getting ready to walk, I forgot some exciting news.
Avery now has her orange belt. I have a picture of her but I have temporarily misplaced the cord things that download the pictures from my camera. Organized I am not. As soon as I find them, up the pictures will go.
Avery now has her orange belt. I have a picture of her but I have temporarily misplaced the cord things that download the pictures from my camera. Organized I am not. As soon as I find them, up the pictures will go.
I made it!
Rain. 42 degrees. Feels like 28 degrees. I would be a liar if I said that I was thrilled with the conditions. Or that I was psyched to start walking. But as I listened to the 36 year old survivor tell us that the first time she participated in this walk was 7 days after completing chemotherapy, I realized that as I looked around at the 2800 other people that were walking, there would always be someone worse off than I was. So with my knee taped up and my rain poncho on, off I went.
Through the pouring rain we walked through parts of Boston I have never seen. Old manufacturing plants, beautiful old apartment houses-right in to the north end of Boston. Despite the pouring rain, it really was beautiful. The first day we had the option of walking 13.1 miles (a half marathon) or 26.2 miles (a whole marathon). As much as I wanted to walk the whole 26.2, I knew that if I tried, especially in this weather, I would probably hurt myself, so I took the smart route (and for those of you who know me well, know that this didn't come easy for me) and at 13.1 miles I got on the bus back to camp.
This camp was familiar to me as it was the same place I camped last year when I walked the 3 day event. However it was completely different this year. It was wet and very cold. Did I mention wet? 2 of my sisters were at the event with me-one of them walked with me and one worked as a member of the crew. My sister on the crew had brought her car to the camp, so when we got back, we crawled in and took a nap. Not the most comfortable, but a) it was dry and b) remember...there was someone always worse off than me. A few folks had hurt themselves, a few people didn't take care of themselves on the walk and ended up sick. I was just cold. However, we made the decision after dinner that sleeping in a tent was not in the cards for us that night. Many folks did. I did hesitate a bit before leaving to find a hotel- I mean, I don't really consider myself to be that big of a sissy, but I wanted to be sure I could finish the walk the next day and I am not sure I could have if I slept in a wet tent or in the back of my sister's truck.
The weather channel said that the rain was supposed to let up on Sunday. It appears that the weather didn't get the message. At least it was a bit warmer. On the second day, we walked through the towns of Canton, Milton, Quincy, Dorchester and back into Boston. Another 13.1 miles. As we made our way back to UMass/Boston the road was lined with people cheering us on and wishing us well. I had been surprised with myself that I hadn't gotten emotional at any point during the walk-until now. As I crossed the finish line I was crowded by cheering people and I started to cry. Not because I was tired, or because I was in pain but because I was overwhelmed by the fact that these people were cheering for me. And I didn't really feel as if I had done much. But when I thought about it, it wasn't about what I had done. It was about what we had done. Over 2800 people coming together to make a statement. To raise awareness and to raise money. Thousands and thousands of people in the Boston area saw us and knew why we were walking. Thousands and thousands of people donated money to the walkers and together we raised over 6.7 million dollars. Just in one city! Much of this money goes right back to local programs and hospitals, including Baystate Hospital in Springfield.
So here is what I learned from this weekend. A hot shower and a good night's sleep can cure pretty much everything. So can a dry pair of socks. That one person might not be able to make big changes but when you lump a whole bunch of people together...they can move mountains. That I can tape my knee pretty well. That I love Men with Heart (menwithheart.org). That walking 26.2 miles can really help to clear your head. That sometimes miracles occur and you don't get any blisters even though you walked a marathon in wet shoes. And that every time I participate in an event like this, I realize that I have to do more.
Thank you so much for all your support. I think my next goal is to do a walk in a different city. A destination “vacation”. I'll keep you posted.
Through the pouring rain we walked through parts of Boston I have never seen. Old manufacturing plants, beautiful old apartment houses-right in to the north end of Boston. Despite the pouring rain, it really was beautiful. The first day we had the option of walking 13.1 miles (a half marathon) or 26.2 miles (a whole marathon). As much as I wanted to walk the whole 26.2, I knew that if I tried, especially in this weather, I would probably hurt myself, so I took the smart route (and for those of you who know me well, know that this didn't come easy for me) and at 13.1 miles I got on the bus back to camp.
This camp was familiar to me as it was the same place I camped last year when I walked the 3 day event. However it was completely different this year. It was wet and very cold. Did I mention wet? 2 of my sisters were at the event with me-one of them walked with me and one worked as a member of the crew. My sister on the crew had brought her car to the camp, so when we got back, we crawled in and took a nap. Not the most comfortable, but a) it was dry and b) remember...there was someone always worse off than me. A few folks had hurt themselves, a few people didn't take care of themselves on the walk and ended up sick. I was just cold. However, we made the decision after dinner that sleeping in a tent was not in the cards for us that night. Many folks did. I did hesitate a bit before leaving to find a hotel- I mean, I don't really consider myself to be that big of a sissy, but I wanted to be sure I could finish the walk the next day and I am not sure I could have if I slept in a wet tent or in the back of my sister's truck.
The weather channel said that the rain was supposed to let up on Sunday. It appears that the weather didn't get the message. At least it was a bit warmer. On the second day, we walked through the towns of Canton, Milton, Quincy, Dorchester and back into Boston. Another 13.1 miles. As we made our way back to UMass/Boston the road was lined with people cheering us on and wishing us well. I had been surprised with myself that I hadn't gotten emotional at any point during the walk-until now. As I crossed the finish line I was crowded by cheering people and I started to cry. Not because I was tired, or because I was in pain but because I was overwhelmed by the fact that these people were cheering for me. And I didn't really feel as if I had done much. But when I thought about it, it wasn't about what I had done. It was about what we had done. Over 2800 people coming together to make a statement. To raise awareness and to raise money. Thousands and thousands of people in the Boston area saw us and knew why we were walking. Thousands and thousands of people donated money to the walkers and together we raised over 6.7 million dollars. Just in one city! Much of this money goes right back to local programs and hospitals, including Baystate Hospital in Springfield.
So here is what I learned from this weekend. A hot shower and a good night's sleep can cure pretty much everything. So can a dry pair of socks. That one person might not be able to make big changes but when you lump a whole bunch of people together...they can move mountains. That I can tape my knee pretty well. That I love Men with Heart (menwithheart.org). That walking 26.2 miles can really help to clear your head. That sometimes miracles occur and you don't get any blisters even though you walked a marathon in wet shoes. And that every time I participate in an event like this, I realize that I have to do more.
Thank you so much for all your support. I think my next goal is to do a walk in a different city. A destination “vacation”. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Final grades
Much to my dismay I don't have quite as much time to procrastinate doing my final grades as I kinda need to have them done by the time I leave for the walk on Friday but I thought I would take a short break and show you what I have been looking at for hours now....(holy run on sentence, Batman)(me, not my student)
a comment about Jack's hair
Peg wondered where Jack's hair went. Well, the last time Dan took him to see Frank the barber, he kind of did a number on him. Its too short. He doesn't look like a little guy anymore. The bright side is that he probably won't need a haircut for awhile.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Just learned something about my blog
Perhaps everyone else knew this. If you click on the pictures in a posting, they will be bigger and easier to see. I am very technical.
I am still about $600 away from my goal
That I have to raise for the walk I am doing in a week or so. So if you know anyone that likes to shell out cash.....please send them my way.
Jack's first baseball game
One of my biggest hopes for my children is that they will be baseball fans. Now Avery is a baseball fan because Alou is a baseball fan. Its not so much that she likes baseball-its more that she likes Alou. But my little Jackie guy...he likes baseball. So it was high time I got him to a game. But knowing that he has the attention span of well, a 3 year old, I couldn't bring myself to shell out the cash to go to Fenway-minor league game, here we come.
We headed to Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT. Home of the CT Defenders (formerly the Norwich Navigators). We had a great time. Here are some pictures.
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