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.

Home Again...almost...

Our whirlwind tour of Colorado was fantastic. We loved celebrating Cerisa and Patrick's nuptials. The wedding ceremony itself was Thursday but the celebration lasted all week long. There was an out-of-town family dinner at the Metropolitan (formerly JeffCo) airport on Wednesday night. Then the actual ceremony and reception on Thursday. THEN a hog roast picnic for friends and family on Friday and FINALLY a wind-down at Cerisa's parent's house (Roger's brother) with opening of wedding gifts and good ol' hanging out.

Here are some links to pics of the WEDDING the HOG ROAST and other miscellaneous pictures from the weekend. Roger took most of them but he even let me play with the camera a few times. The weather for all the events was perfect and any rain, storms, or other glitches were few and far between (see the pics of the HAIL STORM that we experienced yesterday).

In between the wedding events, we did some driving up in the mountains to Estes Park and Georgetown. In Georgetown, we met our friends the Goerolds. We had first met them in Houston and little Allie passed away earlier this year. We had a very nice visit with Lynne, Tom, and their other adorable (and VERY smart) daughter Sarah. It was good to not only visit but commiserate a little and do some emotional "checking-in" with one another. Turns out we're all kind of dealing with the grief in our own way but the similarities sure seem to outweigh the differences.

The emotions were up and down the entire trip (at least for me) but overall it was a very relaxing time and it was very good to see friends and family...especially for such a wonderful celebration. Roger and I had some good bonding time where we could focus on one another and our relationship (rather than work) for a change. That's always good because as much time as we spend with one another on a daily basis, we often need that opportunity to reconnect.

So this morning we said our final goodbyes to family and headed to the airport. The flight into Atlanta was kind bumpy due to the weather. We had a good 3 hour layover until our Richmond flight. Then as they were preparing to pre-board, they asked for volunteers to bump to the next morning's flight in exchange for compensation. Roger and I have done this before so given that we didn't NEED to be back for anything on Monday, we kind of jumped at the chance. They put us on the list and told us they would let us know. The boarding process began and the time ticked away. They didn't call our names to board. Then, just as we were sure we would be staying over in Atlanta, they called us to board the flight. We ran down the jetway, settled into our seats, put on our seatbelts and...wait....what was that? The gate agent came back and said they needed us to voluntarily bump after all. Sooooo we disembarked and headed BACK up the jetway. PSYCH! There were four of us in total that were bumped from the flight. We all made small talk as we received our hotel and meal vouchers plus (wait for it) TWO round trip tickets EACH to anywhere Air Tran flies good for the next year. So who wants to be my best friend and take a trip to the Bahamas with me?

We are currently in an Executive Suite at the Westin hotel for a few hours, hopefully getting some rest before we head back to the airport for the early morning Richmond flight. The room is very nice, at least, so that's a plus!

Now some business to attend to:

Our next official CJSTUF fundraiser is in progress. Dot Heffron and Jody Harmon, local Tupperware representatives, are our Home Based Business for June. Supporting CJSTUF is easy. Go to our website for a link to the online fundraising page. You can order from anywhere in the country. Sales must be in by June 23rd. Please share the link with friends and family. I think Dot and Jody may be organizing some local parties as well. If you are interested in hosting a local party to benefit CJSTUF during the month of June, email me and I will forward your information to them.

With that, I will sign off from Atlanta. Our next post should be from Richmond....

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.