NOT all about me...

I think the people around me have forgotten that this isn't all about me. I can see how that happens... the training is about my body, what I do, how I do it, and what I don't do. The fundraising has a lot to do with what I can organize, how I do it, and what energy I pour into it. It gets pretty personal. I see how the real reason can get lost in the shuffle of car washes, things for sale, and general gimmicks. I get it. It happens.

But it's NOT ABOUT ME. It's not about most of the people I know. It's about those I don't know. The few I know who have battled cancer have been amazingly brave and brazen. Their fear, for I know it had to be there, they did not show. Like warriors, they fought the good fight. Some won, some lost. Some barely had a chance to fight. Statistics show that someone dies from blood cancer every 10 minutes. And that's just blood cancers. 9.5% of new cancer cases in the U.S. are blood cancers (Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Hodgkin's Disease being the most common of those). THIS is what it's about.

I am healthy.
I am strong.
I am able.

and I have no guarantee that I will stay that way. Yes, I am accomplishing one of my own personal goals by completing a marathon. But, IT'S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. How many other lives am I reaching by tackling this goal? I will likely never know. It may be one, it may be one hundred.

Let's fight while we can, for those we can.

As for the latest fundraiser, I will say this: You only live once. And hair grows back. Let's focus on those who don't have a choice. There are so many who lose their hair not out of choice, not for a statement, not for appearances, but because they have no choice.

Let's get real.