Run Your Ass Off

This past weekend Mom led the hometown posse through the Relay for Life, a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. The 24-hour plan was squashed due to lack of budget for full time security, but this is just as well - neither Mom or my very pregnant SIL, Kerry, are really prepared to sleep on the ground.

So, throughout the evening family and friends walked and ran laps around the quarter mile track at my high school. And they did it in style; Hawaiian shirts, flower leis, baked goods, lots of laughs, and though I cannot confirm as jobs may be at stake, I heard rumors of vodka smuggled in water bottles. Sounds a lot like a Jimmy Buffet show actually, but with one major difference - they raised over $6K...donations and solicitations from team members, pennies from the kids at school, a 60 lb. jar of PTA change worth more than $900. A pretty solid grass roots effort if you ask me.

The fundraising aside, I think the gathering was important in and of itself. I'm certainly not in this alone, and my village needs a village to help it cope and heal, too. Once again, I find myself awed and inspired by the support and love offered up to us...