November is a month for Thanksgiving, perfect timing in light of how I spent last weekend. As inspired by a dear friend who has had more than her fair share of heartache this year, I’d like to take a moment to remember the things I am grateful for.
I am grateful for my friends, who braved the cold and wind to join myself and the nearly four thousand other walkers this weekend in the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. Their humor, conversation, bright spirits and contagious laughter made the impossible actually enjoyable.
I am grateful for my family, from my sweet, loyal husband who walked by my side every step of the way (and never once complained about the incredible excess of girl talk and boob references) to my girls who were the best cheering section a mom could ask for. Seeing their smiling faces on the road ahead made blisters disappear, and put a bounce in my step I could not have imagined.
I am grateful for my mom, who has been there for every step in my life, baby steps, life steps, and these 60 miles worth of steps, supporting me and encouraging me, all the while keeping up pretty well herself. She is so much stronger than anyone, even she, gives her credit for, but I hope she knows we notice.
I am grateful for the beautiful weather that made the long walks so peaceful and (dare I say?) pleasant. The sun on our faces and cool breeze on our back felt like mother nature guiding the path. We could not have planned it better.
I am grateful for the hundreds of port-a-potties along the route. Enough said.
I am grateful for all of the organizers, and fellow walkers, who made this incredible event possible. Their elbow grease and long hours made what could have been chaos a fun and inspiring experience, and their companionship along the road reminded us that we are all in it together, strangers and friends, women and men, young and old.. this is a battle we can only win if we stick together.
I am grateful for everyone who gave a donation, no matter how small, to me or anyone else on the walk. Together we raised nearly $8 million dollars, which will fund cancer research, prevention, and treatment. I would not have been there without your support, financial and emotional, and I felt your love every step of the way, just as the brave women fighting breast cancer will feel it in the months and years to come, when they reap the benefits of your donations.
I am grateful for my team leader, a dear sweet friend who crossed the finish line on the first anniversary of being cancer-free. She is an inspiration to us all, never wavering from her commitment to the cause, her family, her friends, or herself. A consummate bright spot in the day, we looked to her when we were tired or bored, and her spirit kept us going through the miles. The walk was her idea, and I would walk another 100 miles today if she asked me to. (side note, the picture of us together was at the end of the closing ceremony, which should be called a 30-minute sob-fest, hence the puffy eyes and tear stained faces)
Most of all, I am grateful for every blister, every sore muscle and achy joint. Every time I feel a pain it reminds me that I am alive, that I have been blessed with a body healthy enough to attempt crazy adventures such as this, and I am here to enjoy the agony and the exhalation in the aftermath. Every cold wind I braced against was a reminder that I am here to breathe, and every scorching sunbeam was a reminder that I can still feel its glow on my shoulders. We passed signs along the way that were inspiring.. “Go Mom!” and “We are so proud.” But the signs that kept us going were the ones that reminded us why we were there, such as the young boy standing silent holding a handmade sign that read “My mom would have said thank you,” or the little girl in a stroller bearing a sign “My mommy walks with you because my Grandma walks with Jesus.” No matter how badly I hurt, or how many other things I had waiting on my to-do list when I got home, I am grateful that I was able to be there at all, and that my children had a mom coming home to them. There are no words to explain how grateful I am to be here today.. even with the stack of laundry on my kitchen table and stack of orders on my desk. (and on those same lines, I am grateful for the clients who have been patient enough to allow me this time to indulge myself in this little excursion in the midst of the one time a year that everyone is on a short deadline!) Too many women were taken before their to do list was finished, and aren’t here to rush their kids ready in the morning. Every breath is a blessing, every blister a wake up call. And for that, I am grateful.
As an offshoot of this post, I’ve got my girls writing in a nightly gratitude journal for the month, maybe longer. I want them to learn to be thankful for the little things, the ones we often overlook in the rush of the day. I’d love for you to join me, post the things you and/or your children are grateful for in the comments box under the posts any day in November, and we’ll have a drawing at the end of the month of all the names of people who participated, with the winner earning a certificate for a 2009 portrait session.. another thing to be grateful for!
