Chicago Part II

Saturday was a day of rest and trying to make sure I got as much healing time in for my feet as possible. I was kind of nervous about how they were going to feel the next day and not running the race was most definitely NOT an option so I had to baby them.

Mike and Rebecca Connelly took us to a matinee of the revival/revamped version of the musical Candide in the Goodman Theater downtown. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by a bunch of guys, “and re-envisioned” by Mary Zimmerman.

Supposedly it was made simpler to follow. It was quite odd as it was. Not sure if I want to see the harder-to-follow version.

But let me say one thing…It was phenomenal! Everything from the singing to the orchestra to the strangely perspective-skewed set was top notch and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. (High praise coming from a quartet of musical snobs!)

After the show, we dodged the two and a half trillion kids going to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live and headed off to an Italian restaurant for some serious carbo-loading. I had no trouble downing a basket of bread and a big ole plate of pasta.

Then it was back to the “flat” for an early night of tossing and turning. I get rather nervous before a race and sometimes I don’t sleep so well. I sure am thankful that we were staying so close to everything because, for a 7:30 start time, we didn’t have to leave our place until after 6:30.

Rachel and I walked up toward Grant Park and since we were getting there relatively close to the start time, we were greeted by quite the mass of humanity. We got a picture of ourselves taken, we stood around for a bit, and then Rachel headed off toward the first meeting point and to hook up with the Connellys.

Before I committed myself to the race by joining with the crowd, I got to talk to a running celebrity. It was the guy who juggles while running. I have forgotten his name and I can’t find it online but here’s a pic: The first time I ever saw him was in my first ever marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon up in DC. I actually got to talk to him this time and he seemed pretty cool.

The start line of the Chicago Marathon is in the north end of Grant Park and runners are herded north on Columbus through the tunnel. It took me almost a half hour to get to the start line but that’s ok. I got to talk to several people as we moseyed forward.

I also got another try at proving my theory of races: The farther back you start, the fewer people pass you.” (I came up with that. It’s copyrighted. Don’t steal it!)

As I waited in the crowd, I met a guy named Jaimie who was running his first marathon ever. He was pretty excited as were his relatives who were hanging with him until the throng started moving. One of his relatives had a big odd and ugly Mylar vampire balloon. He said his wife originally tried to get him to run with it so that they could find him in the crowd. Fortunately he was able to talk her out of that idea and the family members ended up taking it with them so that HE could see THEM and veer toward the balloon if he needed something.

Then there was the quartet of college boys all running the race for the first time together as a sort of defacto team. It was cool to witness that camaraderie.

I also ran into a couple of women, both of whom were running their first marathon. As we reassured each other, I told them, “Just think. After you finish this race, and you WILL finish, you’ll be a marathoner forever!”

We finally made it to the official start line and I remember thinking, “No turning back now!” which is kind of silly but I guess I needed the mental lockdown at the beginning.

Talking to other runners and being nosey about what they do and all that is probably my favorite part of running races. It all comes from a documentary I saw several years ago about a guy who ran the Boston Marathon and filmed his conversations with people as he went. I thought that was the coolest thing and decided to talk to people like that when I ran.

The next guy I met was Chris (I think). He was running his first race of any kind EVER! Crazy dude. He was a Physical Therapy student at a nearby college and really didn’t have a plan for the race. I tried to warn him about the “walls” and told him to wave when he passed me later on in the race. As slow as I went, I never saw him after he stopped for water and I kept going.

Susan was the next person I met and she was a marathon vet. She was trying to do all the high-profile marathons like Los Angeles, Chicago, NY and all that. Her husband was usually the support crew (her version of Rachel) but he decided to run this one (much slower than her) so she was on her own. Her next race was supposed to be London and then Berlin. Not a bad existence.

One of the nicest persons I met along the way (beside the “joggler”) was Bob Spielberger. He works downtown, has run the Chicago Marathon for 12 years, and was planning on going back to his office to do some paperwork after finishing the marathon. As I ran with him, he pointed out historic buildings and made sure I knew where Rod Blogojevitch’s office was located!

We separated at another water stop and I kept going.

I saw Rachel, Punkin’, and Mike here and there along the way but I guess they saw me a couple of times, including the halfway point, when I didn’t see them. They seemed to get around very well and in the end they calculated that they had walked over 7 miles following me around.

I was very amazed at how quickly the miles seemed to be melting away. Before I knew it, I was at 18 miles! I almost let myself believe that this would be the race I finish without walking very much. Famous last words…

Right around mile 18 there was an Accel Gel point where packets of the nutrient replenishing goo were being distributed. I went ahead and took one and by doing so violated the first rule of running. “Don’t do something new during a race that you’ve never done before.” I hadn’t ever had Accel Gel before but I was feeling the need to get something in my belly. Bad idea because within a mile I was getting a very nervous stomach and that was the beginning of the end for Mr. Roger.

I had to walk an awful lot after that but found myself surrounded by many, many others in the same boat. As it warmed up, and it ended up in the 80’s, there were more and more people dropping out and needing attention by the side of the road. Fortunately, the marathon officials learned their lesson from a few years ago and had plenty of medical personnel along the route to assist runners in need.

One very cool thing was the neighborhoods through which we ran/walked. We went through Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Mexico, there were little patches of Koreans and other ethnicities that were all out cheering on the runners. We passed Elvis, a fortune cookie factory…There was even a mariachi band that I’ll bet was out playing for most of the day. More power to ‘em.

As we came up to the last few miles, my brain started getting a little “altered.” I started thinking about Charlotte and why I was there and started getting pretty emotional as we turned north on Michigan Ave. for the last three or so miles.

What kept me from losing it was the annoyingly loud music that blasted from huge speakers located about every tenth of a mile along Michigan. I also saw the “joggler” guy and we moseyed together for a little bit until we turned the corner to head up the hill before turning into Grant Park and the last tenth or so. I guess The support crew was there cheering me on at the end but I never saw or heard them. I did finish running but it wasn’t very pretty.

The best part of the entire run was the free beer they gave out at the end. MAN! Was that tasty! And they gave everyone TWO of them! One at the finish line and one at a special booth at the “Runners’ Park.” I also got a quick massage there from two therapists and started looking for Rachel and the Connellys.

I actually had to walk back past the finish line to the forest-of-metal-guys piece of art to meet up with them. Mike actually had to leave to relieve grandma who was watching their son so it was just the girls waiting for me.

On the way back, I wanted to stop for ice cream and we popped into a shopcalled the Marble Slab Creamery that was right on the way. The owner saw me and a couple of other runners and gave us all free ice cream! What a great way to end the day.

The next day was Monday and after one last visit with Rebecca and the very verbal rug rat, we headed home with little fanfare. It was interesting to see the number of people wearing their metals as they walked through the airport.

Let me just say this about Chicago: For all the corruption that everyone keeps talking about, everything works. The marathon was very well organized and run and as we were walking back, they already had the streets pretty much cleaned. I was very impressed.

One of the street sweepers was painted up with White Sox logos and the one right behind it had Cubs colors.

Next post…Richmond!

Marathon Update-CHICAGO!

Hello friends! We apologize for not updating earlier. Not only have we been busy but we haven’t been near a regular wi-fi connection so this blog post is a little late in coming. BUT HERE IT IS!


First of all, a fundraising update: the Double Marathon Challenge has raised over $300 in the last few days. Way to go and much thanks for the donations. We still have some donations coming in from Chicago folks and we will give you an update by Monday (hopefully) with totals.

Our trip to Chicago was very stress-free. Our good friend Carolyn offered us a ride to the airport even though we had to leave our house at 4:30 AM. It was so nice to have a chauffer that early in the morning (not to mention not having to leave one of our cars in the park n’ go lot). Both flights were smooth and easy. Once we got to Chicago, we hopped on the L train and made our way downtown to find our hostess.

Carolyn also hooked us up with a friend of hers who lives right down on Michigan Avenue. She is our hostess for the weekend. Her loft is just down the block from the 25 mile mark and Grant Park where the race begins and ends. Perfect!

The rest of Thursday was spent resting and settling in. Mid-afternoon, we journeyed out to the ‘burbs on commuter rail to see our college friends, Mike and Rebecca. We had a great dinner with them and were more than entertained by their almost 18-month old son who is chattering like a parrot these days.

Friday was a WALKING day. We walked to the Convention Center (probably about a mile or so from our place) to get the race packet and “walk the gauntlet” (as Roger likes to say) with all the vendors hocking their wares. We got lots of yummy food samples, pulled in lots of swag and met a few other charitable organizations that are fundraising through races. It was great to get in touch with these people and swap stories, business cards, and ideas. You never know where a contact like that may go.

Roger wore his new BALD CHICKS ROCK shirt that came from the New Mexico cancer walk earlier this month. His sister Becky designed the shirts and they look great! Roger got lots of interesting comments and inquiries about the shirt throughout the day. You can't tell in this picture, but the back of the shirt has one of Charlotte's pics in her 'bald chicks' shirt along with the CJSTUF logo on the back.  We saw one woman in Grant Park that commented on his shirt. When she saw it, she pulled off her own wig and showed off her bald head! She is not a cancer survivor but has alopecia.

After our trip to the convention center, we played tourist for the afternoon, walking through Grant and Millennium Park and then down Michigan Avenue and out to Navy Pier. By the time dinner time rolled around, we had walked at least 6 miles (whew!) so we headed back towards our lodgings via bus and L train and ended up at an Irish Pub across the street from our loft for dinner.

I must have been exhausted because not long after returning to the loft and changing our clothes, I was ASLEEP!

So today we begin the final countdown for the Marathon. We have been invited to a matinee performance of Candide and then a carb-loading dinner for Roger with our friends. Tomorrow will begin bright and early. The race starts at 7:30 AM (Central Time); however, Roger’s corral will probably cross the start line at about 8 AM or so. If you text and want to receive text updates of Roger’s progress, you can go to http://www.chicagomarathon.com/ and click on runner tracking. Enter Roger’s bib number (26761) and updates on his progress will be sent to your cell phone. I will try to keep facebook updated as well.

He is hoping to finish in about 5 hours.

Mood Swings and The Double Marathon Challenge

Roger here,

Our trip to Colorado was really wonderful and I can't tell you how great it was to see my beautiful niece, Cerisa, walking down the aisle all grownup and stuff. She's a married woman now. Congrats C-Weed! It was an honor to sing at your wedding.

There were some very bittersweet parts, though for obvious reasons. CJ should have been there.

Coming back to Virginia was actually kind of tough on me for some reason and I'm still not completely over it. I've had quite a few "moments" the past few days and it's been harder than usual to think about Charlotte and what she had to go through. Tuesday was the worst day I've had in a long while. It all started when I was looking for a template of the CJSTUF letterhead and came across the letter I wrote to Disney. It was all downhill from there. I was loosing it at the drop of a hat and really feeling a distinct lack of self control. I had to sit in my car in front of Romp n' Roll for a few minutes and let it all out of my system before going in (probably feeling a little sorry for myself, I must confess).

The strange thing is, the moment I walked into Romp n' Roll, I started feeling better. Rachel was teaching my Babies! class because I had to come in late and it was so nice to see everyone laughing and playing. All the positive energy really bolstered me.

Another thing that doesn't help is that it popped into my head how we used to gauge Charlotte's pain level. The scale of 1-10 and the happy-to-sad face graph really didn't work for her but she would respond pretty accurately when we asked her if her pain level was "a little" (thumb and forefinger apart), "a lot" (hands spread several inches apart), or "alotalot" (hands spread wide apart). I so hate the fact that we had to use that system. Any system at all for that matter.

I've had a few more ups and downs since then but nothing like Tuesday. I'm sure it's just my every six month meltdown that comes about once a month or so now. I'm sure getting back into running will help that.

Hey I think I smell a segue!

Some of you may have heard about my "Double Marathon Challenge" (or "Double Marathon Madness" as Rachel calls it) where I will be running the Chicago Marathon in October and then the Richmond Marathon in November all to raise funds for CJSTUF. Well, training begins on Saturday! How would YOU like to be involved?

We'll need TEAM CJ members for spirit groups along the routes of both marathons and if anyone else wants to run in any of the races (there's also the McDonalds 1/2 Marathon, HCAVA 8K, and a Kids Fun Run in Richmond), let us know. Anyone raising $1,000 or more will get registration fees reimbursed!

I'm tweeking the pledge form to include a few extra choices. (More on that later but think "VT vs UM!")

It's a three day a week program that worked very well for me a couple of Richmond Marathons ago. Anyone is invited to come running with me. I will be running every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning bright and early Starting at 7am. Short runs to start off adding mileage as time goes by.

If anyone isn't part of an official training team, feel free to come out and mosey a while with me. I might be going slow but at least I'll be going.

I would love for some Richmonders to come with us up to Chicago and/or Chicagoans to come down to Richmond for the respective races. It'll be a heck of a party in both cities!

Did I mention my goal is $10,000? I really have no fear that we won't reach it.

Here's a great idea that I'm shamelessly stealing: PLEDGEWARS! I think most of you know that Rachel and I are both graduates of the University of Miami and when I'm not bleeding orange and blue for the Denver Broncos or green and yellow for the Packers, I'm mixing them and bleeding orange and green for the "U." For some strange reason, I have run into a certain amount of resistance from people in this part of the country; especially from those turkeys in Blacksburg. Well, to be fair, I want to give all you Virginia Tech fans the chance to show me who's boss, I'm throwing down the gauntlet. If VT fans raise more money than UM fans then during the Richmond Marathon, I will wear either a turkey outfit or neck-to-toe, including socks and underwear, Virginia Tech garb (I shudder at the thought!). The hat will be a pink or purple Charlotte hat no matter which side wins.

C'mon Canes! You must save me from this fate. We will be keeping a running tally going and we'll have to see what colors I wear on November 13th! Stay tuned.

Here's a GREAT memory we have of Charlotte: When we would say, "We've got some Canes over here," we taught Charlotte to say "Whoosh! Whoosh!" If that's not inspiration for you, I don't know what is.

Last but not least, Coco's Chocolate Dream Chocolatiers, the company letting us use "Chocolate Makes Everything Better," has begun making butterfly chocolates! I don't think I ever told her about the butterfly connection. Please go to her website and thank them or just say hi from a CJ fan. If anyone wants to do a "Chocolate Stand" as a FUN-raiser, let me know and we'll get it set up.

Thanks for letting me rant. I'll keep searching.

On the road again

This afternoon, Roger and I are headed to Denver for a much needed (and to toot our horn I'll say much deserved) few days away. His niece Cerissa is getting married on Thursday and we are very excited. I am sure it will be quite the celebration.

The move is completed. Romp n' Roll-Mechanicsville is OPEN for business and let's all exhale... There are still a few polishing touches to do but now the main thing is to just fill the place with kids. We have had overwhelming positive reactions from the Mechanicsville community as well as from our current customers so we are excited by that. Summer session starts in three weeks so tell all your friends and neighbors in Mechanicsville to hop on over and sign up for a class, camp, or birthday party. That's my shameless RNR plug of the week...

In CJSTUF news, our board met last week. While we don't have any major activities planned right now, there are some potentially large projects in the works for fall. Look for some CJSTUF merchandise to launch this summer (T-shirts, mugs, diaper pads...). Ok, maybe not diaper pads. These will be available on the website. In addition, Sarah Blankenship of Crystal Paintbrush is making some original jewelry designed exclusively for CJSTUF. It will feature lots of pink, purple, and butterflies! She is making a limited number of pieces and they will all be unique. We are hoping to launch this in September...just in time for the holiday shopping season. I saw a preview yesterday and was thrilled with the results!

In just a week we will launch our Home Based Biz of the Month. The business for June will be Tupperware! Dot Heffron and Jody Harmon will be the local reps handling this sale. I will post an update in the next week with all the details and we will update the website accordingly so stay tuned. This program is currently booked through August. July will feature Stella & Dot as well as design services by Reflections Interior Design. August will feature Mary Kay cosmetics. If you have any interest in any of these products, stay tuned for more information because a good portion of proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to CJSTUF. We appreciate these entrepreneurs for their generosity.

If you have a Home-Based or Small Business and would like to be a featured fundraiser for CJSTUF, contact us and we will get you on the docket for the fall.

Once we return from Colorado, Roger will also be launching his official training schedule for his Double Marathon Madness this fall. He will run both the Chicago Marathon (in October) and the Richmond Marathon (in November). He has an ad hoc committee working with him on fundraising plans and events with a goal to raise $10,000.

Finally, soon after we return we will be distributing our first set of Financial Assistance Grants to 10 families served by MCV. I am excited that everyone that submitted an application qualified for funds, including two families that have two children (each) with a significant health need. We are very excited that we are able to do some GOOD WORK for the community this early in our development! The second set of applications are due October 1st so if you know anyone who would qualify, please encourage them to submit an application now.

On the personal front, I appreciate the many people who have inquired about our mental and physical health and well-being over the past few weeks. Roger and I continue to have our ups and downs on the emotional front. I was able to get away to NYC for a few days for Devon's graduation and that was a big help in the stress relief department. I'm really glad the opportunity presented itself. (Congrats, Devon!)

Preparing for this trip has been particularly emotional for me. Getting ready to fly on a plane just hearkens back all those memories of last year: commuting back and forth to Houston, the Disney trip, all of that travel with a very sick child. And now we fly alone. I don't need to tell anyone with kids that flying (or traveling) anywhere with a kid is an adventure in patience. Your packing style is different (why bother bringing a book to read? you won't need it!), there's so much more to think about. And getting on this plane without her is just another reminder that she is gone. Last year at this time, we were in Houston for the first time. We were meeting a new set of doctors, exploring options, wondering about the future.

Now here we are. This is our first truly "pleasure" trip in almost two years (I don't count the Make-A-Wish trip. As wonderful as that was, it was truly bittersweet and I'm not sure traveling with your terminally ill daughter qualifies as a vacation). We're traveling with one large suitcase for two people, a laptop, and a camera bag. Sometimes I think we're forgetting something. I hope that in these next few days we can just relax and recharge. I'm very happy that we can leave the store in such good hands. Our staff is amazing!

I'm sorry to leave you with sad news but we found out early this morning that Casey DeSombre passed away from Leukemia overnight. We never met Casey or his family but they were Caring Bridge folks who we have journeyed with for over a year. Casey was not quite three years old. Despite many innovative treatments and all the best care, he lost the battle. We pray for peace for his family at this difficult time. Cancer sucks. No other way to say it.

One Month

Yep, yesterday was a month (It was also Peter Gabriel's Birthday). As Rachel says, it seems a lifetime ago. What has been happening to me, lately, has been that I'll look at a picture of Charlotte and be surprised, "Woah! She's gone, that's right. Man, that's weird." The "moments" are always there.

Her stuff is still in her room, no real need to do anything with it just now, kids at Romp n' Roll still ask about her including one at a Birthday Bash yesterday who I didn't even know had met CJ, and I still think about her constantly.

The child yesterday asked, "Where's your kid?" Who knows, maybe it was just a generic question kids ask. They do that sometimes. Mom was very cool about it. Sometimes, parents who know our story whither in embarrassment when kids do that but I have no problem with it. I love talking about Charlotte.

I answered the child, "Well, here's a picture of her." and showed her the picture box Annette made with CJ's framed picture and all the great quotes (Thanks, again Annette. You're so amazing!) And that was it. I think kids just need to be reassured sometimes. About what, exactly, I'm not sure. Just being "present" counts for a lot.

We really didn't think a lot about the actual month out thing although it did cross our minds. Mainly because we were SO busy. We held classes at RnR, Rachel and Emily organized (I escaped that!), I got a replacement coat for the one that started falling apart on me, and there were two Birthday Bashes, one of which was a 2-hour party instead of our normal 90-min.

Both parties were a blast and very therapeutic. Every moment I spend in classes or parties at RnR seems to help me deal.

The weekend weather made us cancel Saturday morning classes for the second week in a row. There will many makeups to schedule.

Also as Rachel said, CJSTUF is moving right along! We seem to still be doing things the right way and when we finally get our official non-profit status, the flood gates of activity should open wide on all fronts. It just takes a while to get everything in place and thanks to our wonderful advisory council, it IS being done the right way.

That brings me to the latest CJSTUF stuff. The Monument Ave. 10k planning and TEAM CJ organization is progressing. We have a good problem which I might have already mentioned. Some enthusiastic members actually registered more runners/walkers on their codes than I had planned so if you have not registered and have trouble once you try, please let me know. I'll bet it's getting close to full.

I officially registered for the Chicago Marathon in October. That means I'll be doing Chicago in October and Richmond in November. Oi! No fundraising for these yet. We'll let you know. If anyone wants to do either one/both of these with me, let me know.

Thought I'd let you all know about the efforts and sentiments of others:

James Staudte is a friend from U of Miami and has been training like a mad dog and collecting pledges for CJSTUF. He's been blogging about his experiences on his own page.

We also got a wonderful note from a member at Romp n' Roll which pretty much recounts several stories we've heard about Charlotte and her activities when we weren't looking. With her permission, I've pasted it below:

"Dear Rachel and Roger,

My thoughts and prayers have been with you for the past year. And it is with a heavy heart that I sit down to write to you how deeply sorry we are that Charlotte has passed. While I have no way of understanding what you are going through and will continue to go through as you grieve, I can share with you my memory of your sweet daughter.

Molly and I were visiting Romp n Roll for one of the first times at Open Gym. We were the only ones there until a charming little curly-headed girl bounded into the room. She immediately introduced herself…not waiting for me to initiate. When I learned she was your daughter, I thought what a lucky little girl to have parents who own this awesome kids’ gym. (The only thing cooler would be if you lived in a castle and owned a pony farm. J) Molly was just a baby so she wasn’t able to do much in the gym. And Charlotte took it on herself, as the proud owner, to show us how to utilize each piece of equipment. The funniest part was that she used her impeccable charm and manners to ask my assistance in “spotting” her or giving her piggy-back rides. I can still clearly see her adorable smile and hear her angelic “please”. And it worked. Almost to the point that I kept temporarily forgetting about baby Molly just sitting over by the little rompers area. Through her exuberance, Charlotte was able to show me what fun being a toddler was! I wanted to take her home with us. I couldn’t wait for Molly to get to toddlerhood so we could laugh and play like sweet Charlotte did!

So it’s a simple and brief moment in your child’s life that I am recounting for you. But I am sharing it because I want you to realize what a lasting impression she made on me in that brief 30 minutes or so. I imagine that’s how she lived her four years…to the very fullest when she could; charming people along the way. Charm is not always easy to find in other people’s children. Cuteness, sweetness…yes. But charm is a sign of someone special. How fortunate you are to be Charming Charlotte’s parents! And I know you realize that every day.

With our deepest sympathy,"

We LOVE stories like these. Please keep sending them if you have them.

Charlotte is still here, sort of.

She's reacting less and less to questions and her breathing goes through these periods of slowdown and then it comes back up. I'm sure this will increase.

Nurse Cathy checked her out today. She said CJ's heart rate is slowing and her body is to the point where it won't take any food/water and wouldn't know what to do with it if it had some. Her blood pressure is very good which means she's in no distress or pain. Cathy confirmed for us that Charlotte would probably pass within the next few days. There will be noticable additions to the website when that happens so that everyone will know without having to read the blog because who knows what shape we'll be in?

Charlotte and I have a certain way of holding hands that I think she got from watching the movie, Wall-E. The concept of holding hands and interlocking fingers became a major theme and Charlotte developed this way of wanting to hold hands with me. I'll assume she did that with others but I'm not sure. Yesterday, she initiated that with me which made my day.

I quite possibly heard her last words the other day as well. I may have already mentioned this but at one point, she actually opened her eyes and said, "Daddy?" (preparing to tell me a plot point from one of her books or videos the way she had done so many times in the last few months)

Just about falling off the chair, I sputtered out something like, "Yes dear?" or "yeah, Baby?" or "Charlotte?" or something like that. I was pretty flustered by hearing her little voice which was raspy from dryness and lack of use.

"Marianna (I think) put on her crown and ..." didn't understand the rest. I asked her to say it again but the moment was gone. Haven't heard her speak since then except to grunt "Mm Hmm" (yes) once when we asked her if she wanted some chocolate milk.

The reading vigil continues and it's become so much more than I ever imagined. I came up with the concept to have voices filling Charlotte's last few days with stories because books/words are her favorite thing in the world. Since she couldn't manipulate the books very well anymore and I knew we weren't going to be able to read to her all day so I figured we'd get other people to help.

What has happened is people from all over, some we've never met before, have come in/Skyped in at all hours of the day and night. Some of you have brought your children and have used the opportunity as a very healthy way to introduce them to the concept of death. Some of you have sent in recordings or videos of yourselves reading stories and the energy of this house has remained. The only thing missing is a Skype from Holland. (Let us know when you're available Karin. Needs to be soon.)

The food, which has become healthier (mostly), keeps coming in and the wine bottles have been multiplying. Rachel and I are determined to bring our physical selves (fat tubs of goo) back up to the level of our spiritual selves (growing ever more peaceful).

I helped with Winter Camp at Romp n' Roll this morning which was great. It was a total parade of cuteness and it was so nice to feel the warmth of the kids when they saw me. Next week we start back big time and I think I'll be taking over some of Rachel's classes for a little while. I think Samantha, Annette, and Emily (who have taken over the lion's share of work at Romp n' Roll) can't give up the responsibility and extra hours fast enough!

Speaking of Emily, she's gone and done a very cool thing. She is a student at Randolph-Macon College in the Drama Dept. and is directing the upcoming production of Alice In Wonderland. She has coordinated with Prof. Joe Mattys to donate all ticket sales to Charlotte's fund!

So go see it! :-) It runs March 17-20, 2010 at the Black Box Theater on R-MC's campus. Tickets are $5. Can't beat it with a stick! I'm thinking we might pick one of those nights to be CJSTUF Night Out At The Black Box. We'll let you know. Call(804) 752-7316 to reserve your tickets. It's a small venue and large crowds are expected every night.

Here's another thing coming up for runners/walkers. For anyone who wants to use the races for fund raising, we will have registrations available for the Ukrop's (What are they going to call it next year?) Monument Ave 10K in March and then more for the Suntrust Richmond Marathon, McDonald's Half Marathon, and HCAVA 8K in November. All those interested in participating who raise $500 or more in pledges will receive their 10K registration free. Not sure what the limit will be for the Nov races.

For the 10K, we will have pledge forms available very soon or you can make your own. Make sure all checks are made out to Charlotte or CJSTUF. For the November races, we hope to be a little more technically advanced. We're working on our own race accesories and everything.

Please let me know if you're interested in participating and what race(s) you want to be in. I'll be doing the 10K, the Richmond Marathon, and probably a few other races during the year. I even want to try the very questionable act of running the Chicago Marathon in October as well.

That's all for now.