Relay For Life 2013

 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I am one tired and sore girl today! All day yesterday I was walking around with a hobble and was so tired. Hardly even able to form a thought! But, it was for good reason!

The weekend started out on Friday with a wonderful bridal shower but Amanda, who’s wedding is fast approaching!

Her aunt’s planned and hosted a wonderful Tubberware party shower for her!

I had a great time visiting with all the guests especially this little guy (and Crystal).

It was a late night and I crashed as soon as I got home! Thankfully, I knew I didn’t have to wake up early the next day for work!

After sleeping in a little on Saturday morning I was up and started the day with Ryan making breakfast! The rest of the day I puttered around the house, made some snack foods and rested. It was  great spending the day relaxing. Something I am certainly not used to. But I wanted to keep it quiet as possible because I knew I had a big afternoon and evening ahead of me. It was Relay for Life!

The rural community of Shawville has been hosting the Relay for Life for many years and I was excited to be participating for the first time on Saturday. The team that I joined was the Slipper Sisters which consisted of friends and neighbours.

The late afternoon looked cloudy and dark. It was threatening rain all week for Saturday but the chances of rain had greatly decreased! I packed extra clothes just in case though! I picked up some fellow teammates and friends along the way to Shawville and once there we set up camp and got comfortable.

After a quick bite to eat it was time to begin the opening ceremonies. The participants wear a white shirt, orange shirts for caregivers and yellow for survivors. The walking began with the survivor walk. It took everything I had to hold back the tears as the survivors  made their way around the track.

Finally, it was time to get started and my team lined up behind our designated sign to get the walking underway.

The first few laps around were packed and you had to go at the pace of the people in front of you. After the first couple of hours the crowds started to disburse and the ease of walking got better.

At 10 PM, 3 hours after the beginning, luminaries that people buy in memory of loved ones who have lost the battle to cancer were lit. Another very emotional moment. As you walked around the track in the dark with just the light of hundreds of candles that represent those who aren’t here anymore, your heart hurts. It hurts for those who lost their battle and for the friends and family who were their by their side.

For the rest of the evening (and early morning) we walked and walked and walked. With short breaks for water and food in between. I actually thought that the staying up all night part would be the worse but walking with friends made the night fly by. What was a challenge was the impact hours of walking had on my body. With each passing hour a new part of my body began to ache. It started in my feet and by 7 am the next morning I was hobbling around. I kept telling myself to push through the pain because it wasn’t even close to the pain that those suffering with cancer have to endure.

Some of my favourite memories of the evening was laughing till my stomach hurt! I couldn’t have asked for a better team! I think we were by far having the most fun of the all the teams! I’m sure our laughs could be heard all night and morning long! Our spirits were so high the whole way through. It made the night fly by and before I knew it, the event was done.

My team (minus Kerry!)

To say that I was useless on Sunday would be an understatement. I was exhausted but it was so worth it! I was very proud to hear how well our little team did overall in the fundraising portion! Overall it was a great weekend spent walking for a cause! 

“Supporting the fighters, admiring the survivors, hororing the taken and never, ever giving up hope!”

xo