Relay For Life at Mc Daniel College - and a bragging moment...
Next weekend, May 2 -3, my family will have a team walking at the McDaniel College Relay for Life to raise money for the AmericanCancer Society. This is our 4th year now, since we lost my dad to pancreatic cancer in Feb 05.
Each year my kids participate in several ways - they set goals for themselves as to the number of laps they are going to walk - it is on the track around the field where the Ravens have training camp - last year my 10 year old son walked 14 or 15 laps AND played his sax on the side of the track for donations and raised $70 for ACS. My 8 year old walked 10 or 11 laps (and then promptly passed out of exhaustion...;) )
This year my son asked if instead of them playing a record of the National Anthem if they would let him play it on the sax in memory of his Pop Pop. So he is on the program in the Opening Ceremonies AND as an on-sight fundraiser as he'll be playing for thewalkers (about 400) again this year.
I just wanted to post because I read about the bike ride for autism research, and this event, and the walks for MS, and the many other events that we see around the area - isn't it wonderful to be able to participate in activities (that involve being ACTIVE...) for good causes!?! About 8 years ago I tried to walk the MS walk and gave out after about 1/2 mile. Next Friday I intend to walk 4 or 5 miles at least, and it will feel wonderful!
Thank God for our surgeries!
Thanks Tia.
Aside from the great event and great cause, it is a wonderful way for my family to come together to do something good. I am the youngest of 6 kids, the other 5 are married, and a total of 17 grandkids. This event is a way that we all come together to remember dad AND serve some good. This poor college campus had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they let our team enter! ;)
Caryn,
Several things, first of all WOW for your son being chosen to play the National Anthem. That is awesome!! My son plays the sax also so I'm really digging the fact that this is happening for your son.
Secondly, I think it is so great that after surgery we are not only more motivated to participate in walks, runs, bikes and such but actually able to participate.
I just think back to a year ago, if someone asked me to participate in a 10 mile walk/run or ride a bike for 25 miles I would have thought they were high! It would have been a nice idea, but I never would have been able to do it.
It's also nice that you are keeping the memory of your father alive with a yearly walk. Hope it is a great day.
Thanks so much Kim. We will have to get the boys together to play sax some time! D has been playing since 4th grade, almost 2 years now. He did so well with it, and LIKED it so much I put him in private lessons for the summer between. And when September came he asked if he could keep taking them. So we go to Coffey Music every Tuesday and he loves it!
I remember the first year we signed up to do Relay. A little back ground for you...in Aug of 04 I finally confronted a dead marriage and had started planning my divorce. My ex and I were working out a separation agreement, custody agreement etc when in Nov. my father was diagnosed. My siblings knew I was going through separation/divorce, but we decided NOT to tell my parents. My ex was great through my dad's illness, kept the kids while I flew to FL to take care of him, and to bring him home to MD to die with his family around him (as he had wished). My dad died 9 weeks from diagnosis, and did not know I was going through divorce.
All of that being said - from 03-04 I had lost about 100# on weigh****chers. That August day of 2004 when I uncovered the demise of my marriage, I turned to stress eating. And the day in November when my father called to tell me he was going to die, I turned to stress BINGING. And in about 7 months I had gained 80# back. So when our first Relay for life came up (May 05) the concept of walking all night horrified me. I did it somehow, but I must have looked like a worn out elephant crawling around that track by about 10 pm. When I went home at 7 am the next day, I felt like I could have slept for a week. This year, I feel like I can walk well into the night, then come home and mow and go to school events and Girl Scout events, and keep going!
Wow, I just rambled a lot just to say that my RNY has made this possible to this extent and I am so thankful!
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