Committed......

A couple of weeks ago my girlfriend, Marilyn, asked me if I wanted to do the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk in 2010. I didn't hesitate and said yes. I officially registered earlier this week. Then I had flashbacks from 2005. In 2005 I walked 60 miles in three days to raise awareness for breast cancer. It was an amazing event and something I will never forget.
I was flipping through my scrapbook looking at the 2005 walk and came across the letter I wrote the day after and wanted to share some of it with you all.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day/60 Mile walk has now come and gone. How was it? Hard. Very hard, but well worth every step. It was an amazing journey! I cried a lot, laughed a lot, learned a lot and walked a lot.
We started the journey at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The first day was the easiest - imagine that. We walked about 23 miles that first day - through the zoo and the beautiful trails in Eagan. Along the route we are inspired by the people cheering on the sidelines. They bring us popsicles and treats and thank us over and over for walking. Some are survivors. They follow us from cheer station to cheer station to keep us motivated. Incredible!
They did a revised opening ceremony that evening due to the rain in the morning. How emotional! Some of the walkers got up on stage to say why they walk. Some walk because they are survivors, some walk because they have lost somebody they love and some walk because they have been told they can no longer be treated and most likely won't be at the 2006 Breast Cancer Walk. Makes you feel guilty about complaining about the newest blister you realized you've gotten.
Day 2 - ugh, my feet are a little swollen and I've realized that I have a blister between by big toe and my second toe on each foot. My team (Fight Like A Girl) is off to a little slower start today. The pain and my emotions get the best of me. I broke down in tears thinking that I wouldn't be able to walk the remaining 10 miles of the day because of the blisters. My team swooped me up, found me some different band-aides, gave me some Motrin and I finished the day.
Day 3 - My feet feel pretty good and it's hard to believe it's day 3. We're all feeling pretty good and make it lunch at the 12.7 mile marker. We know we only have 5 miles left for the day before we reach the end. The balls of our feet are on fire, blisters start to hurt and your calf muscles are so tight, they've become numb. Be we've made it 55 miles. We cross the finish line to see the smiling faces of our friends and families. We just broke down in tears - so happy to see everybody, so happy, yet so sad to be done.
People have asked me - how do you keep walking? Why not jump into the sweep van to the next pit stop if you hurt so bad or get tired? Here are my reasons to keep walking when I could have given in:
*You look next to you and there is a elderly lady walking right next to you
*You look over and see somebody who has jut finished chemo treatment
*You look at the back of a walker's shirt and there is a picture of somebody that they are walking in memory for
*You look over and there is a girl who is 7 months pregnant walking with her mom who is now cancer free
*You walk because you have amazing teammates who you keep you motivated
*You walk because your Great-Grandmother, Grandmother and Aunt-In-Law are all survivors
*You walk because the 3 sisters on your team lost their mother to breast cancer 3 years ago
*You walk because you believe in a world without breast cancer

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

If you want to join our team, we would love to have you! Just leave me a message (as well as a way to contact you) in the comment section and I can fill you in with the details.

It's Been Awhile.....

It's been over a month since my last post. What can I say other than I've been busy enjoying life.

• Towards the end of July, we took a little family trip to the Dells. We had a great time although the weather wasn't fabulous. We learned that our kids enjoyed our hotel pool just as much as the water parks. Colton had a first - he rode a roller coaster. This is my child who prefers to keep his feet on the ground. Mike was itching to go and Colton said he'd go with. Colton kept his eyes closed for all but 2 seconds of the ride. He was proud that he did it, but that was the end of the rides on that trip! I took only about 8 pictures that whole trip. I wanted to put the camera down and enjoy the company of my family - it was wonderful!
• Mike and I headed down to Missouri for his cousin's wedding. He sang a solo and did a fabulous job. Meanwhile, the boys headed north to my mom's. They were there for 8 days! I missed those little buggers, but they really enjoyed some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa.

• I have been so far behind on ordering pictures. Yesterday I ordered 321 photos from July 2008 through August 2009. Eeks.

This morning at about 7:30 while I was getting into the shower, I heard little footsteps coming down the stairs. When I got out of the shower and back into my room, I found that my three-year old got up and dressed himself before coming down to snuggle. His outfit even matched, but his shorts were on backwards. Now, if only he could get himself breakfast.Tomorrow is my first day back to work in over a week. It's been lovely having the time off and it will be a rude awakening when my alarm clock starts blaring at 5am!