Relay for Life 2010

As many of you know, I participated in the Relay for Life this weekend with Mom and Mel. Saturday began for us around 8:00 a.m. (Mel arrived at 6:00 because she was on the planning committee). We began setting up our tent and bake sale goodies. Then it was the opening ceremony with the first lap walked by the survivors. This part of the walk was the most moving for me, as my Mom is a 15+ years (and counting!) survivor. Seeing her walk with all the others, as well as keeping those in my thoughts that have not survived, was enough to get me all teary before lunch.

Here's a pic of Mom during the opening ceremony lap for survivors (and in her special t-shirt). That big grin disappeared as soon as she realized I was taking her picture. Gotcha!

Saturday was great until about 9:30 p.m. or so. Mel and I found some great eats - I found a group that sold me a turkey sausage from their personal stash (thank you Gabby's on the River!) and Mel found nachos with peppers. There was also lots of things to see and do in between laps. And there were quite a few laps walked - until the lightening started. It was then we got notification to seek shelter in our vehicles. Once in my car (already quite wet from walking in the rain), I heard the tornado warning and we (and everyone else) decided to bail. We left everything and went to Mom's for some shelter and a chance to throw clothes in the dryer.

Mel and I got up Sunday at 4:30 a.m. and returned to the relay site to begin clean-up. We were one of the first teams to arrive post-storm and were glad to see that our stuff was wet but had not blown away. Some teams had minor disturbance or flooding in their site, but nothing major. Here's a pic of what one site looked like when we arrived.

After clean-up and cookies for breakfast, I made Mel walk a few laps with me before we crashed on the sidewalk in the sunshine. We finally left around 9:20 exhausted and stinky (Mel was more exhausted; I was more stinky).

Although the weather was a bit much, I must say that I still had a magnificent time. I met a lot of really amazing people and felt a part of something bigger than myself - and I walked about six miles. It was worth every ounce of effort and minute of my time. And Mel and I can't wait until next year. If you have any interest in joining us in 2011, let me know. We'd love to have you as a part of our team!

[I have another amazing pic to share once Mel gets it e-mailed to her. I hope it comes soon so you can see just how nutty we are together.]