She's So Excited...

Here's a note from Laura...to all of the GoFightWin team:

As I was putting this collage together and thinking about how much has happened since we started this venture, I couldn't help but get excited!

I have no idea whether or not I will be able to walk the whole 60 miles, but I've enjoyed every minute of trying! It's true, walking is not really my thing, but all of these people in all of these photos represent my incentive and my desire to just do it!

Some of these pictures show our supporters who think so much of the event that they get out and walk with us. I've had so much fun walking and talking and just being with everybody.

We are really getting closer to our goal. Now we have to make this last month PUSH to get the money and get physically and emotionally ready.

So to everybody I say: let's GO FIGHT WIN!!! I know we can!

Love,

Laura

P.S. I know the walk is about finding a cure, but I realized I've been walking (and will be walking) with the cures. It's all of y'all! I'm so amazed at what research and people have done and I just have to be thankful that, if I had to get breast cancer, at least I got it when so much has already been done. The thank you list is infinite!

Just a little at a time...

(Another blog entry NOT about Laura... It's for our 3-Day Team...GoFightWin!)

Some of you may know that in slightly more than 9 weeks, I'm gonna walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day.

It's a big walk... 60 miles in 3 days. Lots of miles each of those days.

So, to get ready, I've been trying to follow the training plan as much as possible. It doesn't always work exactly like the plan, but I try to do what I can.

Yesterday, I thought I was supposed to do a 12 mile walk. So, I took the dog for the first 4 miles and then Harv and the girls met me at Starbucks, had a cup of coffee, and took the dog back home. I, on the other hand, continued to walk -- for eight more miles (Harv joined me for the last 2 1/2 miles).

I was sore. And tired. And, it turns out, when I looked on the training schedule, it was supposed to have been a 14 mile day. I was pretty proud of walking 12 miles and a little disappointed that I didn't follow the plan. I got over it. And, tried to pump myself up for a ten mile walk today.

This morning I didn't really want to walk. I was still sore from yesterday and I didn't want to have to wake up early. My nice neighbor walked with me for the first five miles. Then I came home, showered, changed my clothes and walked to and from church (the last five miles).

All along the way, I really didn't want to be walking. I enjoyed time with my neighbor and on the way to and from church I listened to good music, but I would have really enjoyed staying at home for my first cup of coffee and riding to and from church.

However!! On the way home, (my last 2 1/2 miles) I had a revelation...

There is a training plan to get my body and my mind ready. For each mile I don't want to walk, but do anyway, I gain a little more confidence... a little more, "I can do THIS." Because I walked 12 miles yesterday and 10 more miles today, it gives me the hope that I can walk the 15 miles that's comin' up at the end of this week.

And, it occurred to me that training for the 3-Day is a lot like life. Every time we do something --- even when we don't think we have it in us --- we get more and more prepared for the things that are ahead.

So! For those of you who may be training for the 3-Day, walk on!! It's gettin' you ready in lots of ways.

And, for those of you facing what seems to be an insurmountable task, do it a little at a time and each step will prepare you for what's ahead.

GoFightWin!

The Longest Walk Ever

This blog isn't really about me, but since we're now focusing on the 3-Day, I thought I'd share with you what my girls did for me...

I walked 12 miles today...which, so far, is my longest training walk yet.

The following photos show what greeted me when I got home.

Pretty sweet children, wouldn't you say?

Blessed to Bless

I spoke at church today about the Atlanta 3-Day... Here's how it went.

I'm Pretty Sure Mama Would Be Proud

I believe Mama was proud of all of her children, but lately, I've been thinking about how proud I think Mama would be of Laura right now.

She would be proud of the way Laura faced the original diagnosis. She would have been proud of Laura's determination and her fight. She would have enjoyed Laura's photos of her doctors and nurses and the camelias that Laura got to see with Mrs. Cannon in the spring. She would have respected Laura's intelligent questions and her desire to follow doctors' orders even though that meant she couldn't have salads for a LOOOOONG time.

And, she would be pleased and proud that Laura's fight and the doctor's care somehow led to the disappearance of the tumor. She would be smiling and telling her friends the good news.

And,I think she'd be proud of Laura and the rest of the GoFightWin! team for doing the 3-Day.

I spoke with Laura the other day and she reminded me that what we're doing for the 3-Day isn't about any one individual. It's about fighting this fight so our children and other people don't have to face an uncertain future.

Our team is walking the Breast Cancer 3-Day so that there will be more resources and funding for people who are facing a similar diagnosis to Laura's. We're walking as a team.

Laura, Mary Celeste and I have raised the minimum donation we need to participate. There are others on our team who still have more funds to raise. If you're thinking that you'd like to make a donation to the Breast Cancer 3-Day, please do it. Choose a member of the GoFightWin! team who hasn't met their minimum donation and help them meet their goal.

There are lives to save today and you can help be a part of making that difference.

Mama would be proud of you.