Quote of the Day: “If a man wants his dreams to come true, he must wake up.” Anon.
Yesterday, I had plans to take flyers to the Tennis & Tutoring kids at Lincoln Elementary and so it was about lunch time when I was ready to go and I called Alex to see if he wanted to come along. Of course, I offered to buy him lunch. We happened to get to the school right when they were ending lunch, so I was able to personally pass out many of the flyers. My favorite group of boys were there and they were so excited when they saw us. It totally made our day! Alex and I walked back to the car talking about what a great feeling it is to have someone be so happy to see you.
Alex commented to Joe that my behavior of late has been impatient (my words not his- his were something like “crazy”) and it’s true. I get so edgy before a marathon or big event, for that matter. It’s like you know it’s right around the corner so you are anxious for it to begin- might as well get going. It does cause me to be less tolerant when I have to wait and driving is the ultimate test of patience. It’s all related to this desire to have this event behind you and then I’m reminded of that old saying “there’s joy in the journey” but it doesn’t matter- I can’t lose this anxious feeling. This will be marathon # 28. I started out my marathon journey thinking 100 marathons would be a cool goal, kind of like I was going to collect marathons like some people collect owl decorations but now I see how difficult it is to keep up that goal. You really have no idea when you start with such a lofty goal whether or not your body will hold up. I belong to a large group of people who can’t run because their bodies have given them the big “NO” from time to time.
But my main purpose for writing today is to talk about the RACE FOR THE CURE last Saturday. Lynne’s friends wanted to form a team in her honor and so I organized the shirts with Jen creating the shirt design and Erin forming TEAM LYNNE PATRICE . It was awesome that everyone took a role in making this day happen. We all wore the shirts and Lynne’s friends added beautiful touches to their apparel as evidenced in the pictures below. It was a beautiful morning, we met by the reflecting pool near the library for a group photo and started walking 3.1 miles to the finish line. So many lives have been affected by breast cancer. I thought as we walked what a sea of support this was. This wave of participants were tightly packed together- it took 1 1/2 hours to get to the finish line. Maggie questioned “Will we ever get to the finish line?” and indeed she wasn’t the only one thinking those thoughts! We walked along talking about life, listening to the sights and sounds of the city. We walked through the neighborhood of my TNT students and passed right by their school yard. This disease has struck so many lives, so many shirts displayed names in memory of or in honor of. We even wondered about the ones that seem a little irreverent about this disease such as “Yes, my boobs are fake, my real ones tried to kill me.” We couldn’t help but wonder the wisdom of the group in front of us whose shirts said something about “I feel boobs… especially since many of their group were small girls. But hopefully, knowledge is power. From breastcancer.org here are the following statistics:
- About 39,520 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2011 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990 — especially in women under 50. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
- For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
- In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the US
As we were walking to our car, Alex noticed the “Survivor Walk” taking place. I thought about why I didn’t want to be there and it wasn’t because I am so grateful for medical advancements that found my cancer, removed it and then also discovered that I carry this gene. I am a survivor but part of me wants to put that behind me. I know I can’t really do that but for now I am not really wanting to embrace all of it! Maybe when it feels safely behind me!
Mostly, I loved walking for Lynne. I love to look at the pictures of her last January in Tahiti. She looked so healthy and hopeful. I love that her spirit is living in each of us that knew and loved her. There is not a day go by that I don’t think of her many, many times. I’m certain she is preparing Matt & Kelsey’s baby as he prepares to enter this world.
Lynne’s dear friends that go all the way back… Shelley and Sheri
TEAM LYNNE PATRICE by the reflecting pool (Alexander family arrived just after group photo was taken)
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