For the first in my Spotlight series, I thought I'd start with the person who got me into this 3 Day mess in the first place: my big sister, Leanne.
Leanne's been walking for 1 year longer than me. We both walk in memory of our Grandma Shirley (although the unfortunate part of doing something like this is that you pick up a few other people to walk for along the way).
My sister is probably the most hard core person I will ever know in my entire life. She is super dedicated, super determined, and super stubborn. Which can be an awesome combination. This is the girl who walked 60 miles when she was 31 weeks pregnant. The same girl who walked 2 events in one year with only 1 weekend between them. She wakes up early in the morning to walk, even though she's got a little one and a busy job. I did not inherit those genes, but at least one of us did. Until you've watched someone give birth naturally, you have no clue how hard core they can be (TMI? Sorry!).
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| Leanne's wedding 7/4/09 |
We get each other through the tough miles. We sing songs, we tell funny stories, we complain about our guys (sorry, boys!), we talk about her little boy. 60 miles is a LONG way to go and it can get boring and exhausting and painful and disheartening. But we've walked together for 4 years. Sometimes with friends who've joined us that year, and sometimes alone.
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| 3 Day 2012 |
My sister and I did not always get along, as many of our friends and family can attest to. We had a hard time growing up, in my opinion, both due to our environment and a little bit of just who we were naturally. We never really used each other to get through the tough times. Unfortunately, we were each other's enemies. And it made life very difficult for both of us. When we got older, we realized life would be much easier if we were allies. And truthfully, once we made that switch, we never looked back. I made a major geographic move to live closer to her and her husband and it was the best thing I could have ever done.
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| Fundraising in NOLA |
The statistic that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer makes me instantly think of my sister. We wasted a lot of years thinking we hated each other, and we deserve the rest of our lives to make up for it. Her sweet, freaking awesome little boy deserves a lifetime with his mom. Her rockstar husband deserves to have her nag him for the rest of his life (yep, I said it). My future kids deserve to have her as an aunt who will be (almost) as awesome as I am to her son.
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| Wesley's 1st Birthday |
Leanne rocks. And I walk 60 miles every year to make sure that she gets the rockin' lifetime that she deserves.
Now I'm sure my readers either know Leanne, or know someone as hardcore and awesome as her. Let's make sure we get to keep them.
Not sure how much to donate? Here are some numbers that are important to Leanne's life:
$22 donation - in honor of her birthday on the 22nd of April
$41 donation - in honor of how long her pregnancy with Wesley lasted (for real)
$31 donation - in honor of how pregnant she was when she walked in the 2011 3 Day
$120 donation - in honor of all the miles she walked the year she did 2 events.
$82 donation - in honor of the year she was born
$60 donation - in honor of how many miles she'll be walking with me this year
Donate an amount that is significant to you, or just donate what you can. But help me in my journey to end breast cancer and keep the people we love in our lives.
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