Advent of April and those who go the extra mile(s)

We awakened yesterday to a sparkling day; the sun was out and after all that rain, everything seemed shiny bright and scrubbed clean.  One of those days where it is so beautiful it almost hurts.  It was also delightfully warm, and Buddy and I went on not one, but two walks.

Last night I slept with the windows open and for the first time this year, I heard spring peepers.  This morning the lake was shrouded in mist; the surface perfectly still and silvered, so that there was an eerily perfect mirror image of the docks and trees lining the shore.  When I took Buddy for his morning walk, the air was filled with birdsong and all the little strands of spider silk were outlined in mist. I really love life.

The view out my window this morning

I love it so much, that sometimes I forget that I have cancer.  Not in a ‘I’m not thinking about it all the time’ way (which is good and healthy), but rather in such a way that I totally disregard the fact that my life course has been irrevocably altered.  And I start making crazy plans, which, truthfully, are beyond realistic.

And just as no one is going to sell me a life insurance policy (nope, didn’t get one back when I could), there are limitations to what I can realistically expect to achieve.

For instance, there is a wonderful fundraiser coming up on May 2nd sponsored by the Lung Cancer Alliance, Team Lung Love.  It is the brainstorm of Julia Gaynor, and it is a half marathon/marathon in conjunction with the Cox Providence Rhode’s Race in Providence, Rhode Island. I really wanted to join the team and walk the half.  In this particular instance I didn’t feel that I was limited by my lung cancer, but rather by my left ankle which is now home to eleven screws and a plate. Although I’m back to being very active, walking even a couple of miles results in some extra pain and swelling. Regretfully I acknowledged that taking on thirteen might be pushing my luck, so I had to pass.

However, several of my able bodied family members are going to be participating.  First to join Team Lung Love was my amazing sister Laura, who, if her hamstring allows it, will run the marathon. Laura’s a real go getter, as well as an incredibly supportive sister, and so far she’s raised the most money of anyone on the team.  She will be joined by her friend Stacy, who is running in honor of an uncle who lost his life to lung cancer.

A picture of Laura and her three boys in an earlier race

In addition, My sweet husband David and son Peter will be walking the half, and they have almost achieved their fundraising goal as well and are now looking to top it.

So I encourage any of you who are able, to join us in Providence on May 2nd. I will be cheering on my incredible family and the other team members who are going the extra miles to raise awareness and funding in support of lung cancer.  I hope to cover part of that distance with them.