It could also be the fact that burn out drove me straight from moving 100 miles per hour for months on end directly into the arms of an Adirondack chair to do nothing but tan and drink beer for the last two months.
But given that planning for 2014 already started (no - that isnt a joke), I think the time has come to wrap this story up.
So here is your long overdue breakdown of what happened that week in April.
Ten Lessons From 2013:
10. Wearing cowboy boots for 12 hours in the Arthur Ashe Center may not kill you, but it will make your feet sore for weeks. Literally.
9. No matter how carefully you plan, inevitably something will happen that never, ever, crossed your mind. (Ask me about the trolley-balloon arch situation sometime).
8. Never underestimate the power of coffee at 5:30am.
7. I am pretty sure I will one day be punished for the number of small children I gave cowbells to despite the fact that I knew they would be used to drive the parents of those children insane.
6. My baby brother is the bees knees.
5. There will come a point when you think people have heard everything you have to say. Then someone will show you that you havent said everything just yet.
4. Everyone should get to do the thing they love best with the people they love best.
3. There is no such thing as a flattering action shot of me running. (So lets look at Tyler instead.)
2. It takes a lot longer to spread yard signs down a mile of road than one would care to believe.
1. “Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
Our Grand Total:
Y'all helped me raise over $20,000 this year - which is amazing in its own right. So while Im still slowing cranking out 200+ thank you notes, let me say it here - the generosity and love shown by so many each year baffles the mind. Together we've now raised over $45,000 in seven years. And that, my friends, is bananas.
But the real amazing figure? Its the total for the 2013 Challenge overall. We kicked past records squarely in the ass and currently stand at $564,737.46 raised in 2013. Im pretty sure Lauren and I are finally done looking for an accounting error that made the figure so high and are just going with the conclusion that RVA is awesome. And that everyone is pretty sick and tired of cancer.
Whats Next:
Im happy to report that Ill be making an encore performance as Chair of the Massey Challenge in 2014. It'll be my retirement year as I put a bow on whats been an amazing experience with the Challenge for what seems like forever. I'm even more excited that my powers of persuasion were successful at finagling Worth to sign on as my co-chair. Dude is one of my very favorites, and Im crazy-happy that Im turning over the reigns to someone with a huge heart, tremendous spirit, and willingness to dance in public. Important things, people.
And Im leaving you with a song. 'Cause thats what I do.
So, in summary, and on behalf of all the physicians, researchers, patients, and families that your support will touch in the years to come - THANK YOU. Y'all are allowing research to continue, progress to be made, and hope to flourish. Our own little miracle right here in RVA.
Until 2014, my friends,
Kaity
