3-Day Recaps

I wrote a bunch of posts recapping each day of my 3-day experience on my other blog.  You can find them here:

Day 1:
Friday, August 3 - Day 1 - And we're off!!!


Day 2:
Saturday, August 4 - Day 2 - "One Bad Day"


Night 2:
It was a dark and stormy night


Day 3:
Sunday, August 5 - Day 3 - The End of the Journey

It was an emotional, awe-inspiring, overwhelming, faith-in-humanity-restoring 3 days. And even after writing, all these blog posts about it, I'm still trying to process the experience.  It’s kind of funny, because if you look back at the first post I wrote not long after the event, I said I didn’t think I’d do it again.  But now, only 3 weeks later, I’m thinking that I might want to.  Maybe not for a couple of years, but I think I just might want to do it again….  We shall see.

Melissa's Random Thoughts: Komen 3-Day Day 1 Recap

Melissa's Random Thoughts: Komen 3-Day Day 1 Recap: Friday, August 3, Day 1: The day started bright and early. Ok, that’s a lie. It wasn’t bright; it was still dark, since Becca and I had ...

Amazed by the support

On Sunday, I finished the Cleveland 3 Day.  I have so many thoughts and emotions and feelings running through my head, that it's taking me a while to get them straightened out into any kind of a coherent pattern. 

But one of things that stood out above all the rest was the awesome support that I received.  Support from my family.  Support from my friends.  Support from other walkers. Support from the crew.  All sources you'd expect.  What totally floored me was the support from the total strangers.  The random house along the route with popsicles.  The random post on twitter telling me to hang in there...  Support came from all sides.

Here is a sample of some of the cyber support I received:

 

Rambling thoughts at about 36 hours before the walk and a THANK YOU.

In about 36 hours I will be standing at the start of what I think will be an amazing, life changing adventure.  I'm still not entirely sure what I've gotten myself into - all the internet research, youtube videos, and twitter accounts in the world can't prepare you for reality or compare to the experience of being there.  And being "there" is where I will be on Friday morning - The opening ceremony of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure.

I've checked and double checked my bag (and am resisting the urge to triple check) to make sure I've got everything I need packed and ready.  It's all in there

I've checked and double checked my heart and my brain to make sure I'm doing this for all the right reasons.  This is not about me setting some personal mileage record and being all badass for walking 60 miles.  No.  This is for my friends and family and all our loved ones who have struggled with, fought, won the battle or lost the battle with breast cancer.  This is about hope and faith that a future without this disease can exist - No, that a future without this disease WILL exist.

One thing I haven't done enough of lately is say "THANK YOU".  There are many of you out there who have given donations to help make that future possible, and regretably, I've been very remiss in acknowledging those gifts. I've got some more personal things planned to show my gratitude to each of you after the walk.  But until then, I would like to take this moment to say a very heartfelt thank you to my donors:

• Jenny Tully
• James Atkins
• Jennifer Cook
• Heidi Zimmerman
• Jeff Bish
• Carrie Schwarz
• Lynn Fielder
• Barb Bosley
• Sima Button
• Linda Kriebel
• Ann Henderson
• Connie Meeker
• Katie Nichols
• Susan Schwarz
• Steve Fowler
• Becca Pietrusinski
• eBay customers who purchased books
• Village Realty OBX
• Commercial Insurance

And it's not just the financial contributions from the above named people and businesses that have made this journey possible. The personal friendships and love and support from the majority of those names have been even more invaluable in getting me there.  Words cannot express the gratitude I feel towards all of you.  A simple "thank you", while seemingly inadequate, will have to suffice for the time being.

And now that I'm feeling sufficiently sappy, I think it's time to step away before I start to cry and go triple check that bag...



1 week to go

As the days go by and the walk gets closer, I'm trying to switch my focus.  It's time to turn away from the fundraising, packing, etc. and turn towards the reason I'm doing this - the people.

A few days ago, I posted this as my status on Facebook:

The responses I received, some public, most private, brought tears to my eyes



I was once again reminded how prevalent this disease is and how important it is that we find a cure. 

Here are the names that I was given.  I will walk to honor and remember these strong wonderful women.

In loving memory of:

Kim

Pam

Chaneen

Anne

Brenda



In honor of:

Gramma (Carrie Schwarz)

Janny

Beryl

Barrie

Felecia

Frannie

Desiree

Linda

Pat

Kathy

Stacy

Debbie

In addition to wearing the names of all of these ladies on a cape attached to my shirt at the walk, I have made a small monetary donation to honor each of them. They have endured so much in their lives, that it was the least I could do.

16 days to go...

The walk is 16 days away. I've got 12 days to finish up my fundraising. 15 days until I hit the road for Cleveland.  There's so much to do in that short amount of time that I kind of get bogged down in logistics and forget why I'm doing this.

I'm doing this because the people fighting breast cancer aren't just nameless, faceless people - they are our mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbors, friends, husbands, brothers, sons...  It is, quite literally, all of us, everywhere.  You, me, the next door neighbor, the clerk at the cornerstore, the lifeguard at the pool, the man in line behind you at wal-mart.

Why do I walk?  Because I can.  Who do I walk for?  I walk this mile for each one of us.

Specifically I'm walking for:

Kim (in loving memory)

Gramma

Barrie

Beryl

Felecia

Frannie

Go to www.the3day.org/goto/mkfuentes1 to  make a donation and let me know if there's someone else that you'd like to add to my list

Meet Hope and Faith

Meet "Hope and Faith," the shoes that will carry me through the Komen walk.

Those are my grandparents' wedding pictures in the background.  Four of the most wonderful people to walk this earth, they taught me a lot about hope and faith.

I walk this mile in memory of Kathleen Morris.

I walk this mile in memory of Howard Morris.

I walk this mile in memory of George Schwarz, Sr.

I walk this mile in honor of Carrie Schwarz.