Twas the night before ... race day!

It's finally here - our first big race! I think Cady is genuinely excited about it; I've been talking to her about it all day and she smiles each time. This is the first time our family has been to some kind of non-medical 'event' for her. We've been to Callia's dance recitals, Girl Scout ceremonies, Kiefer's t-ball games, etc. But, nothing for Cady that I can recall (other than cake and ice cream for her birthdays). She really has never had the opportunity to participate is stuff like that. So, this is a big deal and I want to make sure the whole family is into it and understands the significance of her participation in a sport.

It's been over a week since either of us has run - I wanted to go yesterday afternoon, but the flash flooding and tornado watch squelched that idea. I was hoping for just a couple mile tune-up, but it never happened. No matter; we're ready. The forecast isn't looking so great - hazy and humid. At least it's early in the day so it won't be too hot. We're going to the beach afterwards. My dad's family has a cottage on the beach in Dennis; we'll spend the afternoon there.

A couple days ago, unexpectedly, we got two Easter Seals jerseys to wear. They only sent two, so Chris and Steve will be wearing whatever they feel like wearing. The jerseys are red with white lettering. Cady and I will both be wearing the jerseys and black shorts. Our colors are somewhat significant: as you all must know by now, Cady's nurse and family friend, Debbie, lost her 23-year old son a week and a half ago. He was heartlessly murdered by two minors. We were in Florida for the calling hours and funeral, but I attended the burial yesterday afternoon - it was very sad. Anyway, Michael was buried in a black urn with red roses laid over his grave; red and black were apparently his colors of choice for clothing and Debbie thought it appropriate to bury him that way. Well, by coincidence (or not if you believe in that sort of thing) our Easter Seals shirts are red and I have only black running shorts. So, our colors end up being in memory of Debbie's only son.

I want to thank Debbie DeBello and her friend Jamie for picking up our race bibs yesterday. They saved me the aggravation of having to drive to Falmouth. I also want to thank Chris and Steven in advance, for their support and willingness to run with us. And, of course, Kelly, since I KNOW she doesn't want to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning and get four kids ready and out the door.  As for the fundraising, we're officially at $1,350, but I still have to put in the paperwork for my company's match, about another $1,000. So, we collectively crushed the $1,000 that need to be raised. I actually spoke with someone today whose father has received services from the Seals; I'm happy to have raised money for them and hope their mission will be furthered that much more.

I have so many other things I want to write about and will try to get to them all during the upcoming week. I want to tell you all about our trip to Florida - meeting the Wiggles cast, the Disney experience and a place called 'Give Kids the World' (www.givekidstheworld.org). While there, we met some really nice people, including a couple families with a disabled child. Oh! And I've begun reading Dick Hoyt's book, 'Devoted' (www.teamhoyt.com) - I need to tell you about that, too.

For now, though, I'm going to make sure Kelly has everything packed (as if I have a say in what/how things get packed!) and then try to get to bed a little early. Look for my blog tomorrow or Monday with race day narratives and pictures!