a good day

Tonight is the annual Relay for Life event at the college where I work. I advise the club that puts on the event, and I am a member of Team Justice for a Cure, comprised of students and staff from my office. Within just a few hours, we'll be walking laps in celebration of cancer survivors, in support of those undergoing treatment, and in memory of dear family members and friends who lost the battle. I am walking for: Beth B, Pamelia W, Jeff K, Elyse, "Yucky," Leslee, Nelie, Marilou, my Grandpa, Anthony D and others.

This year the theme is "sports teams - making plays against cancer." Our team will be doing a "ball park" theme, so that any member can wear/bring any baseball team apparel, memorabilia, etc. We'll be sure to not juxtapose the Yankee and Red Sox stuff. Our on-site fundraiser will be selling pop corn, cotton candy, and hot dogs. I just picked up the hot dogs and rolls around noon today, and am still defrosting them in cold water in my sink because I just hadn't thought it through. Of course they'd be frozen solid. We are hoping to sell out!

It should be a fun and meaningful event. Matt is bringing a friend. We won't stay all night, and I will head back to the event after catching a few hours sleep -- probably around 5:30 a.m. tomorrow for the closing ceremony and clean up crew. This is my fifth year doing this, and it gets better every year.

Also - on this day in history - 45 years ago my parents got married. Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad. Hard to imagine the whirlwind life they've led. Married just before the holidays, their first born (me) comes along 10 months later. Four kids born in six years, careers, retirement, grand kids, community involvement, and lots of music and concerts. I am thankful for their health and happiness, and wish them many more years together!

These photos were taken this past fall. We attempted to get a new family photo that would include our two newest members, the youngest of whom is now 2 years old. Unfortunately, we had an unexpected wait at the photo studio (like nearly 45 minutes), so by the time the 14 of us crammed into the little room, we weren't necessarily all feeling like smiling. Of the many we took, this was the only one where nobody blinked or had a funny look on their face. I think we all wished we could express ourselves like our toddler Lily did. I am happy that we did manage to take this photo, because the memory of the photo session will be pretty humorous, and after all, we did it.