Tis the Season

Four weeks ago I made the decision to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by running the Tinker Bell Half Marathon with Team in Training.  The decision was not an easy one but was prompted when a close friend, Adam, of our was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the early ago of 29.

Originally, I had planned on running the 5K event on the last weekend in January.  When I received news of the diagnosis, it immediately hit home, not only did I think of Adam as a brother, but having a very close relationship to my own brother, I could only imagine the impact it was having on his family.  Adam has just completed his second of six to eight chemo treatments this past week and remains in great spirits.

I am a mom, I work two jobs, and lately, I have had the majoirty of my days not end until 7 p.m. at night.  Was I crazy for trying to take on fundraising and training for a marathon in addition to all of this? After a long discussion with the hubby, we knew it was the right thing to do.  I showed up to sign-up on the very first day of training, almost a month after the rest of the participants.

The support that I have received in the past month has been amazing. People have been overly generous, and some that have supported me were a delightful surprise.  It has made me proud to be surrounded by so many caring people that are willing to step in for a wonderful cause. As I make small sacrifices to fit in my training (getting up before 5 a.m., being away from Stella even more than I already am) I know that this is truly a part of giving back and others would do the same for me.  This year, the holiday sprirt is in full force.

For more information and progress on my training and Adam's condition, please click here.



Me, Adam, and his sister Heather at an ugly Xmas sweater party
over the weekend.