Recently I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I got to watch several of my very special friends cross the finish line at the three-day AVON Breast Cancer Walk.
You may ask why this is so special. Well, I trained for this walk. I trained very hard and appointed myself as the “cheerleader” and tried to inspire my teammates. We all work for Snohomish County, and we formed a team of not only walkers, but found a crew member and did lots of fund raisers. Unfortunately, into my training I started having trouble with chest pains and other health issues. I found out that I had to not only stop training immediately, but could not walk in the event.
I tried to keep inspiring my teammates. It was hard. I felt like I was just a “looker” and not a “doer.” I felt like I had let them down.
In the end, these amazing ladies ended up earning a collective $33,000 for the cure. They walked several thousand training miles between them. It was an honor to be at their special kick-off party.
At the end of the party, my friends presented me with a present. Inside was a doll that they had all made. She looked just like me. Each of them had added something special to her. Her face was sketched by one of them, each part of her clothing was given, down to her silver heart earrings. She was like looking in a mirror. Then they told me that they were going to carry her in a backpack through the walk so that even though I wasn’t there, I could still be with them. They even planned to walk “me” into the closing ceremonies. They even registered “me” as a walker.
Saturday afternoon at the International Fountain in Seattle Center, I stood with pride as I watched each of my friends finish. Some were quick and full of energy, some took their time and hydrated and stretched during the way, some even took things slow and steady. But all of them are my heroes.
These friends are ones that I will have for a lifetime. We started our commitment to this walk because we have had several friends who have been touched by breast cancer. Some of our walkers have even had breast cancer. We kept our commitment to this walk because the statistics say that we will know a lot more in the future. I wanted everyone to know about these amazing friends I have.
Marysville
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