Saturday, July 17, 2010

Moving out of my comfort zone in honor of Matthew..

I've made a decision to do something very un-ME-like.  I am signing up to do the Ride for the Cure in November. Its a fundraiser for the JDRF, and not only will I find a way to raise $3000, I will also ride over 50 miles to help find a cure for Matthew, and all the people like him who suffer every single day with this disease.

I don't consider myself one who goes out and pounds the pavement for causes.  Sure, I've run in the Koman's Race for the Cure, but that was more about ME than it was about cancer.  I wanted to see if I could do it.  I was pretty sure I could, even though I knew I would not be fast.  And other than my dear godmother, Georgia, I've been blessed by not really being affected by this disease, although I know that I could be one of those one-in-nine very easily.

This is different.  I ride for Matthew.  I ride for the boy I love more than life, in hopes that he will, in his lifetime, be free from this disease.  It affects every aspect of his life, every day of his life.  I have a lot of the worry, but he bears the brunt of it all. And he does it with grace, dignity and a sense of humor.

So - I decided to ride.  I'm not a big cyclist - the furthest I've ever gone is 18 miles.  I know I can reach the 32 mile marker, so that's not enough of a challenge.  I'm going for the 54 mile route. (I'm not crazy enough to think I can ride 109 miles...)  I have 4 months to get ready.  I have the most marvelous cheering section imaginable.  I have hope that my efforts WILL make a difference.

If you want to read about The Day Everything Changed, you can GO HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT

1 comment:

Jen said...

You can do it! And Matthew will never, ever forget that you did.