Marching for babies 2010

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Well this week has been full of interesting events. I will try to describe them one at a time. Let's start with the March for Babies earning funds for the March of Dimes. My niece was born very pre-term at 24 weeks. She is a fighter and as a family we have been blessed by how well her development and health have progressed. Because of the miracles our family has witnessed I wanted to combine my HealthFULL journey with a couple of causes close to my heart. My next event is less than three weeks away The Relay for Life earning funds for American Cancer society and if you are interested in donating you can visit http://main.acsevents.org/goto/SuzySullivan . So back to the March for Babies. I enlisted some family volunteers to be my walking buddies and fundraising partner. I am so excited to share that my eldest niece and I reached our goal of five hundred dollars for the team. Thanks to my partner's determination, generosity of our sponsors, and tons of prayer. It felt so good to start our walk with a little extra bounce in our step. I didn't hit my goal last year when I walked for my office's team and it saddened me. But then that probably helped make this year's success a little sweeter. I feel like we actually fulfilled a promise. That was an incredible feeling to know we honored our commitment all the while helping an organization work to lessen other families' anxieties and despair. The day of the walk was not weather that gets your blood pumping for a day in the great outdoors. I went to pick up my team shirt beautifully designed by my fabulous niece and her super creative mom. I brought my eldest niece to the event and then my brother's family was to follow. The event upon arrival was drizzly, sparse, and crowded with umbrellas. But if you looked closer at the walkers who decided to tough the event out regardless of rain were smiling, giggling, and enthusiastic. My niece leaned in to me and whispered "Wouldn't it be cool if the minute the walk began the sun would pop out, begin to shine, and the rain would instantly stop!" I agreed that would be super cool. We checked out team's tents (in hopes of a little cover, we were not one of the umbrella wielding people). We people watched and dog watched, there certainly were a lot of cute babies and gorgeous dogs to entertain us. The rest of her family arrived and we got ready to start our 4.6 mile walk that for the last two years has been advertised as six miles. I think it is to give us walkers extra hope and that added sense of relief. When are about to hit four miles and think oh wow we still have two more to go, wait is that the finish line? We are almost done, YAY!!!! But that is only my theory. Families and office teams shouted a loud "GO BABIES" and off we went. And you know what, not a single drop of rain:) Let me tell you that certainly was super cool! We didn't have a shining sun but no rain was nice. We are almost out of the parking lot and beginning our journey when we hit equipment malfunction. Oh no, the stroller lost a wheel. Really? We aren't even officially on the road and the stroller bites the dust. However this is a durable buggy and our team "star" (mascot sounds rude) was safe and sound. So we continued our jaunt as if all was well. The stroller was still working but I do think the steering was a little rough. So here our team gets the blood pumping, the energy flowing, and the rhythm to our marching. However I should tell you our team ranged from ten months to adult. The younger range was not as enthused at the beginning. We hadn't hit the half mile mark and two of the youngsters echoed are we almost there? Kids, gotta love 'em :) Although near the end my thoughts were echoing their spoken words. How much farther? Are we almost done? I am tired of walking! Everyone was a trooper and this walk was way different than last years. Which reminded me that my HealthFULL Journey is changing my outlook, my daily life, and my health. Last year I dreaded the event because of fear. I really didn't know if I could complete the walk of six miles. And would I end up flat on my face? (Which I did last year! I am so not the picture of grace. I biffed on one of those road reflectors. I wasn't paying attention and my foot caught in wrong and WHAM hit the ground. Of course I have electronics galore in my pockets not knowing how long the walk would take and what distractions I could bring like a music player, camera, and phone. To tell you how hard I landed I broke my disposable plastic water bottle that they give out on the walk. Do you know how hard you have to throw one of those things to break it? Pretty hard! And of course I am with co-workers, so I play it off like "Ha ha I just fell isn't that crazy? No I am fine just checking during a thorough road inspection. Ha ha!" Of course the trolley that picks up stragglers saw and double checked on my well being. A bruised ego is much worse than a scraped knee, which I also received." Those fears ate me up last year. But this year I woke up super early for the event like a kid ready for the first day of school. I joked with my nieces and nephews and joined in some of their sprints along the march. Me - sprinting for kicks and giggles. Crazy! Last year after the event I stopped by a grocery store to pick up junk food as a well-deserved reward for the day's hard work (a tray of brownies and a full bag of potato chips) and a frothy coffee drink. Writing that now makes my stomach churn. I still have a long way on my HealthFULL Journey until I FULLy Understand Life by Living but I also need to acknowledge I have made progress. I didn't dread this event not knowing if I could finish. I didn't fall (thank you WII Fit for teaching me a little bit about balance). I enjoyed the company and chatted and laughed instead of just hyper focused on when is this event going to be done. I stopped no where after the event to pick up my "deserved" junk food (though I did enjoy a big bowl of the same potato chips, at least it wasn't the bag:) And then I relaxed the rest of the day and ended with a well deserved slumber:) Well-more needed than the junk food. So yesterday was a taste of accomplishing goals and that hard work is always rewarded. May your own HealthFULL Journey allow you the opportunity to reflect, succeed, and hunger for more. 'Til we meet again. . .