Friday, April 30, 2010

1........2.........30 Minutes

Wednesday my daughter offered to be my walking buddy and since I never turn down one on one time with her I took her up on the offer although I was watching a Touched by Angel rerun w/ Randy Travis in it and really could have had a lazy night.

She loaded up her ipod and her phone which of course for she doesn't leave the house without and out the door we headed. We decided that even though I have been walking 4 miles tonight we would only walk 2 miles. I have read enough Facebook comments and other walker blogs to know that a walk is a walk and some are long and fast and some are slow and short but either way the feet are moving. So I decided to just enjoy the time with my daughter after all she is 15 and that means I don't always get Mom time.

We walked thru our neighborhood with her telling me that she has been telling friends and teachers about my fundraising efforts and that she has me a couple of orders which is pretty exciting for me. Then we pass a few girls walking and I get the low down on them. Which if you are a Mom of teenager girls you know to take it with a grain of salt because those they don't like today maybe their best friend next week.

Anyway on we kept walking not really talking about anything special and I look down and find a dollar bill just there for the picking. WOOOOHOOOO a dollar, before I could even say it she smiled at me and said "So I guess that is going towards your goal uh Mom" I had to laugh and just said Yep that makes me one dollar closer to my goal.

We got to our turn around point and were heading home when my phone buzzed and I guess she didn't hear it. It was just a message that I was reading when she asked are you making a facebook status on your dollar bill......lol.....I have only been part of the 3day since February but she knows I get really excited about donations of any amount.

Over all a pretty good walk I found $1 dollar, the 2 of us got some much needed time, and it only took about 30 minutes.


Til next time Standing Firm
Tanya

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Special People

You often hear parents say that they learn alot from their kids and you think yeah I bet especially if they are still in school. After all everything seems to be taught different and they sure seem to learn alot more than we did back when I was in school.

As adults we know that although kids learn academics in school they also learn so much more. They learn how to interact with people, they learn how to speak up for themselves, they learn how to accept authority. And every now and then they learn what it means to lose a special person. Well this past week I had the honor and heartbreak of watching a group of kids lose a very special teacher.

Being a parent we remember things our kids sometimes wish we didn't and a couple years ago when the kids had Mr. Silverglat as a teacher they didn't take to him right away. After all he wasn't the heartthrobe or the most cool teacher but he was special in his own right. Most of the kids took his class because they thought broadcasting would be a blow off class, something they didn't have to work very hard at.

As the year drew on they realized Mr. Silverglat was pretty cool, yes he pushed them, yes he gave them homework and yes he made them laugh alot. So over all not a bad guy and in the eyes of a teenager that makes you pretty alright.

The kids moved on to high school but still talk to many of the teachers from that year, they have them on Facebook and they stop by for football games or just when they have time off. They became friends with those adults and although most would never admit it a friends is what they found. When they found out that Mr. Silverglat was sick a few months ago there were a few moments of sadness but as teenagers do they bounced back pretty quickly but last week when he passed on to Heaven. I got a phone call from my daughter and bless her heart you couldn't even understand her. I have many of her friends on Facebook and there have been several post to and about this very special teacher.

It has really made me stop and think just how people affect us everyday. Some we know have made a lasting impact some we only cross paths with for a very short time and really won't realize their impact until we are down the road.

Either way we all need each other and during the next several months I will be training and raising funds to go toward the Susan. G. Komen 3day walk for the Cure because just maybe there is somebody's life that will forever affect a student.


As always Standing Firm

Tanya

www.the3day.org/goto/miccroft
Please donate even $5.00 helps us get a little closer to the Cure or you can find me on Facebook.

Monday, April 26, 2010

The Half Way Point

Friday I hit the half way point in my fundraising goal and I couldn't have been more excited. I was in youth sports for over 14 years and have raised lots and lots of money over the years and oddly enough I have never been as excited over those dollars as I was Friday. Not that those dollars weren't going for a good cause because I believe in our youth but after reading and meeting the ladies and men involved in the Susan G. Komen 3day for a Cure these dollars that I am raising just seem to take on a different look.

Kinda like when I took a bunch of ribbon and trinkets and turned them into a homecoming mum as tall as my daughter. They took on a new life just as each of these funraising dollars do.
So I wanted to thank each of you that have helped in so many way, by your kind words, by your dollars, or even by donating the stuff that has been taking up so much space in your house. I know our next fundraiser (the garage sale) is going to be a great success.

Since my fundraising is going so great I guess I am off to my next big thing which is to "train" myself to drink water. Have you ever really asked your self if the world is made up of so much water and water is such a big part of our make up.....then why is it so hard to drink???????

I mean really I can slam a coke like nobody's business, I can shoot tequlia with the best of 'em, I am a southern girl and sweet tea is always in the fridge, I can't start my day without coffee but WATER.....it just isn't in my daily routine. Even as I type this I am looking at a liter of water on my desk and thinking do I really have to drink all that?????

I guess I am off to drink water...lol


Standing Firm
Tanya

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Family Affair

I remember when I was laying in the hospital after my Thryoid surgery most of my family there and in pretty good spirits and then came my Dad thru the door. He had a look that I had never seen before in all my 33 years and I remember thinking what in the world is wrong? I later found I was what was wrong he was scared to death...in his words he was "helpless to help his oldest daughter".

I have thought of that several times over the last 4 years and thought of all the Dads that are told their kids no matter the age have cancer. As a parent myself I guess I can kinda now understand that look.

Yesterday I realized exactly how the big "C" can be a family affair for good and not just bad or scary. My daughter Dannyelle (15 yrs) has been handing out flyers to our fundraiser to all of her teachers and friends, she has been making braclets and hair bows to sell so she has money to donate. She called me yesterday after school to tell me that one of her teachers couldn't come tonight but was sending a donation.  Thanks Dannyelle and Ms. West.

This morning my son Preston (21 yrs) came in to tell me that he sent me a link to a local resturant that has sponorships for local charities.  I think he was looking them up because he was hungry really but hey I'll take the help anyway I can get it. Thanks Bubba, Mom loves you.

One of my grandmothers (78 yrs) has taken it upon herself to create and send out her own donation letter on top of mine to many of her friends and business folks. Let me just say that Gma Rocks!!!!!!!!! This was a great help it brought in over 500 bucks.

Each of my brothers and sisters have helped some have helped me train, some have helped me with fundraising ideas and some have helped just by being my cheerleaders.  A special thanks to each of you.

So I guess and am very thankful that cancer doesn't always have to effect a family in a bad way, because it sure has brought this family just a little bit closer working on kicking its booty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, April 19, 2010

TAKE THAT BUCKO

As many of you have heard me say when I decided to do this walk it was as if God was sitting next to me in the car. I have asked several times even since giving into him and signing up for this bold, crazy, and sometimes scary but diffently life changing event.

 Why??? Why me??? What if???

I still am not sure about the why? or what if ? But I am starting to get the why me...first of all the more I grow in my walk with the Lord the more I realize "because I said so" means a whole lot when coming from God. Isn't it funny that we don't like to hear that anymore than our kids do...lol

As I have said before my live took a major turn around 4 years ago and as if being told I had cancer was not enough a year later I had a major car wreck that left me unable to work, drive, or even walk for about 6 months. I remember thinking in those early days after the wreck what more can go wrong? Ususally when I hear people say that I laugh and say be careful what you ask for. But this time there was no laugh only a still small voice...asking are you REALLY ready to learn to lean on me? I thought what do you mean I have been walking with you for over a year now.  (Yes I was one of those people that found my way back to the Lord during a problem).

What he meant was for this single mom to trust him...not a man, not a paycheck, not even myself. What I have learned is that trusting in God is an ongoing battle at least it is for me. I think I have it mastered and then something happens and I realize what I really have mastered is getting to the edge and looking over and then jumping back because I have allowed the world to tell me how to act and how to feel and how to think. Truly trusting God means that we sometimes have to walk in blind faith.

Well once again that blind faith was tested this past weekend in a couple of different ways and the enemy knows exactly where my weak spots are and tried his best to derail my journey. For those of you that know me, you know I am  absolutely T-totally scared to death to speak in public but our team Standing Firm has a fundraiser coming up this Thursday and what better place to get the word out than to invite our Sunday School class of about 150 people to come out and eat. To do that someone had to stand up and annouce it well thankgoodness contrary to what the enemy would like to tell me...nobody laughed, I didn't fall flat on my face and who knows maybe just a few of them will come out to support us and help us raise funds to end Breast Cancer.

So I guess when all these people keep telling us that the 3day event is life changing they really do mean it. After all I wouldn't stand up speak in public if not for a really great cause.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Keeping Track of my 3day

My 3day journey started about four years ago I signed up to walk and had even joined a team. I was pumped and excited I was ready to go or so I thought. A couple of months in a Dr. visit cameback with less than perfect news. I had Thyroid Cancer the doctor told me well " it is the easiest cancer"and maybe it is since it was found early. I had surgery to remove my thyroid a couple of rounds of radiation and a lifetime of taking a replacement hormone. Sounds pretty easy when you can type it out in 3 little sentences but the truth is I was scared to death. I was a single Mom of two great kids and no idea what to do next. Needless to say this kinda shook-up my world I pulled myself out of the 3day and spent the next few years really looking at how I lived my life. It sounds so cliche but I really thought "wow...you have a couple of choices here". You can spend the rest of your life always looking over your shoulder worrying will the cancer come back somewhere else. Or you can live life, enjoy your kids do something to make a difference something that matters. And well I don't know about you but the latter sure sounds like more fun.

So here I am 4 years later, finally retired from youth sports my kids are young adults and Mom has a lot of time on her hands. What better thing to do than what I started 4 years ago. By taking a stand and doing something to rid this world of cancer. I have spent the last couple of months reading and learning what it will take to walk 60 miles in 3 days. I have meet (well kind of thru blogs and facebook) some very awesome people that have already decided to take a stand and fight. I have learned that there is so much more to this event than just getting up in November and walking 60 miles. There is training of the feet, of the mind, of the spirit. There is the challenge of raising $2300.00.  There is gear to buy and break-in, you might get a few blister but you sure don't want an extra sore spot because a pair of shorts really didn't fit that well. LOL

 I was walking the other night when I realized I was letting this journey start without a journal of some sort. So I started thinking I could buy a cute little book, but I am not much for sitting down and writing. I could try taking pictures along the way, but they don't say everything. I could even try a voice recorder while I was walking but then listening to the ipod or talking with my walking buddy would be hard. So how was I going to track this amazing journey.....an electronic "cute little book" I could blog it as so many others have and then maybe one day I could really take the time to put it in some cute little book and have something special to recall my first 3-day event.

So this is me in a nutshell and why I want to blog.


Tanya

www.the3day.org/goto/miccroft