Ultimately....to appreciate the little things. This past weekend I was privileged and blessed to be able to participate in the Avon 2-Day Walk in New York City to raise money for breast cancer research and to find a cure. My life hasn't directly been impacted by this vicious disease, but my life HAS been changed by it. My dear friend Evelyn was diagnosed at age 33....13 years ago. She is a three time cancer survivor and 13 years out from her original diagnosis (you go girl!). So this disease has been near and dear for many years. To watch someone fight the good fight, and to be blessed to be part of their support team cannot be put into words (for even me...not much leaves this girl without words.....). So this weekend I joined Evelyn, her husband Vince, their friend Dave, Dana and 2 of Dana's friends to participate in this incredible event. To walk you MUST raise $1800.00, no easy feat if you ask me. I stink at fund raising so I was part of "crew". These are the people who do everything from cook, to serve, to cheer walkers on, to "sweep" (that's us), set up/break down tents, give massage, and SO much more. Evelyn's and my job was to "sweep"...or drive around the city in their vans (that we decorate - GO JETS!) and pick up the wounded, sore, tired walkers along the route. Now for you who know me well know I get lost in the mall. So it is kind of ironic that I was not the driver, but the co-pilot. Given simply a map and a driving route with "official stops" listed. As of Friday I could not read a map. Suffice it to say that I can now not only read a map but get us around the city pretty proficiently. That is NO small miracle!
We arrived Friday dinner time to sign in....yup....a cattle call, but one of THE MOST organized events I have even been to (and it is HUGE). After check in and meeting, we got our gear (phone, walkie talkie and van keys) and headed off to dinner. First small thing I now appreciate is those who went before me who got me through all the paperwork, lines and to the restaurant. Had they not, I may still be in New Jersey looking for the Sheraton, NY! We ate dinner, had a few drinks (mistake number one) and after some fun, we headed back to the NJ side to stay in a hotel for the night. We arrived at about 9pm. Next item of appreciation...a hotel....with a shower....and indoor plumbing with toilet paper....and a blow dryer. We all showered and hit the sack around 10:30 and I fell asleep by midnight. Wake up call was 3 am. As you can see, my appreciation factor is going to begin to increase exponentially from this point on. I now appreciate the fact that I get to sleep until 4:30 every day! And that I can go to bed early (thank you Eric, Raechyl and Adam!). Blindly we got dressed and headed off to Randall's Island to get our van and decorate it....WITH FLASHLIGHTS - remember is isn't even 4 am yet. We did NY Football (Jets and Giants - but decided next year and on out we will be the NY Jets Van - will explain later). All decorations....check. Off to Pier 84 we go for opening ceremonies, which of course, we missed. I swear it was Evelyn's fault. I warned her about my lack of directional abilities, but she insisted I navigate. Ok, we finally get there and check in with van central, and are assigned our first route and off we go. To be frank, at this point I was more concerned with finding coffee than I was to find walkers, after all, how wounded could they be.....they JUST started walking! Which brings me to how much I now appreciate coffee FIRST thing in the morning....and caffeine....and cream...and the fact that my awesome husband delivers it to me in bed each am (when I sleep later than him which isn't often anymore but I still appreciate him a little more today!). Found the Starbucks....THANK GOD!
From this point on we drove from one spot to another, back and forth, "sweeping" people and when we didn't have walkers to sweep we would pull over along the route and get out, play loud music and scream and cheer the walkers on. They truly appreciate it. Another thing that I now appreciate is a voice, because Sunday I woke up with NONE and still have none today, but it will come back, much to my children's dismay. I am totally sure they are digging on the fact that momma can't talk!....."I'm sorry mom, I couldn't hear what you wanted me to do...." seems to be the theme....
I was AMAZED at how many limping walkers REFUSED to get in the van and be swept. They are determined. I saw women bald, wearing wigs, with no breasts at all, young, old, big, small. Cancer has no limits. Which brings me to SO many more things I appreciate. Remember I said I'm thankful for the "small" things....and one of those small things I truly appreciate now is my own breasts....small yes, but they are mine and they are in tact! I appreciate my hair, my health, my mother's health, hell....my mother. Many had NONE. I appreciate not having to wear a hat....I appreciate not being scarred and scared....I appreciate the air I can breathe, the ground on which I walk, the legs I have to walk, the hands I have to type and the eyes I have to see which have been shoved WIDE open this weekend. Everyone cheered on Evelyn in the Jets Jersey while they hissed at me in the Giants Jersey, so I changed to a Jets Jersey, which made Ev annoyed (sorry Ev) but I got tired of being hissed at. Eric told me later that it isn't because there are NO Giants fans in NY (which was what I thought), it was just that Giant Fans are civil and Jets Fans are loud and obnoxious (hey, I'm not making a political statement here, I'm a Jets fan myself....can you tell what team Eric routes for? And it ISN"T the Jets! LOL) Which is why next year we will be the NY Jets Van.
After a LONG day of sweeping, we went back to the Wellness village at Randall's Island, which at this point, is a sea of pink tents. Amazing sight. We had dinner served in tents and then off to a shower. More appreciation....hot food (ours was cold because we were outside and it was cold out), showers inside, not in a truck....hot water and electric it (we had no electricity), a soft surface to sleep on, pillows and blankets and heat...
We hunkered down not in a tent but in a 24 foot box truck....which was a PRIVELEGE! Vince is set up crew so we got to sleep in the back of his truck. Hard yes, but completely closed in and sheltered from the nearly 60 MPH winds that howled ALL night long. We sat, talked, laughed and even cried a little then I went off to sleep. I woke up at some point having to pee but unwilling to go out and brave the elements to use a porta potty I went back to sleep. This went on every half hour or so until finally I had to check the time cuz I wasn't sure I was gonna make it. 3:30 AM.....NO WAY I'm gonna make it till the 5 am wake up call so I opened the back of the truck (iron screaming and grinding as I slid open the door as quietly as I could, just to close it again so no one else froze while I was gone, just to do it again to get back in the truck. Whew! Not so bad......UNTIL Ev asked me Sunday morning how long I waited before I finally gave in and went to the bathroom. I thought they all slept through the non oiled lift gate but apparently I was wrong. Oh well. By this point I am REALLY appreciating light and indoor plumbing! BIG TIME.
We eat another cold meal (oatmeal isn't bad cold, but eggs - now that's another story!). Met with our crew and off we go again to the van, just to find the Giants Poster GONE from the side of the van. I was hysterical. Boy, someone REALLY either hates the Giants or loves the Jets (or....is that the same thing? Whatever!) and we went to the foot bridge that leaves Randall Island to cheer on the morning walkers. By this point I have ABSOLUTELY NO voice unless I screamed at the top of my lungs, which is probably why I still have no voice today. We spent another day sweeping walkers, some hurting so badly it humbled me. Then we went to closing ceremonies. I heard stories that made me cry, and laugh, and think... and thank God. I appreciate my faith a little more today, I appreciate maps - YES MAPS cause now I can read one and it really made sweeping much easier, kind strangers who came out to cheer on the walkers, people who raise $1800 to torture themselves for two days (40 miles!), the color pink, young children who volunteer their time to help, my short eyelashes and lack of eyebrows (some had neither eyelashes nor eyebrows), sleep as I got none this weekend, my friendships (especially Ev!), men who wear pink and do it proudly...I could go on and on. The closing ceremony is something you cannot even put words to...you just HAVE to do it. First they announce and walk out the survivors, then the walkers, then the crew and each cheered more for the next. Reese Witherspoon came Sunday and was the official announcer who announced how much money was raised (yup, $8.4 MILLION dollars) and also announced the grants that were given. About 6 grants were given, starting at $75,000 and ending at, sit down for this one......$5.4 MILLION dollars for research and treatment. Avon says yes to every woman who needs treatment regardless of financial or ethnicity or social standing - GO AVON! When the $5.4 million dollar grant was given, Ev and I happen to be standing behind the daughter of the recipient and she started jumping up and down (all alone) SCREAMING "THAT'S MY MOM!!!!!! THAT'S MY MOM!!!!!" I cried and cried. I learned to appreciate my medical insurance, even if it is stinky - I still get mammograms! I appreciate my family doing without me for three days and friends who make it possible to get through it - it is grueling work, but VERY rewarding. I appreciate blisters, warm socks, women who have gone before me, doctors who make a difference, God's grace over my life (as I did have a cancer scare once but God saw to it that after biopsies it was NOT to be cancer!), the sun and the wind, the grass on the earth that makes sleeping on the ground a little less harsh, food even if it is cold or not exactly what I am used to, an endless supply of water when so many have none, my "fat" which helps keep me warm (Lord, did I actually just say that?!? I MUST still be exhausted and not clear in my thoughts....).
$8.4 Million dollars really wasn't what showed me all these things, it was the people who raised that $8.4 million dollars. THEY are the heroes. THEY are the warriors. THEY are who walk to make a difference. THEY are who love enough to sacrifice. Me....I was privileged to be along for the ride...I just can't even consider it work (though it was HARD work, the REAL work in my opinion is walking). This weekend showed me love for strangers, people who WON'T forget, people who won't give up, people who WON'T stop fighting, people who LOVE other people, even though they don't know them. I met two people who raised the money, paid for airfare and flew out here from CALIFORNIA to do the walk and that was only OUR van....the countless other stories that go untold, but NEVER forgotten.
Here's to you walkers....Here's to you Evelyn. Here's to you Avon, who took the odds from 1 in four women to 1 in 8 women and put a face to this horrible disease. Thank you Evelyn for always being my friend, for letting me in and keeping me in, for sharing your fights - all three of them - with me. And most of all, for loving me and accepting my love for you....oh yeah, one more thing...for showing me that there is a reason you rotate your towels when you put them away! I love you sister - here's to You and the countless other 1 in 8 woman who will be diagnosed every 3.93 minutes! I love you all.....
Until next time...
