Babes for the Brave

Batman has the Bat Signal... knitters have the Knit Signal.

Cancer pisses me off. It took my dad when I was 18 and by proxy (in the form of a heart attack) took my mom two years later. I have fought back in ways that hopefully help others. I've knit chemo caps, I've donated my hair to Locks of Love along with Mags two years ago, and we just participated in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in San Jose. I guess it's my way of feeling less helpless in the world and give a little something of myself.

I recently saw the Knit Signal in the form of a post on the Knitted Babes blog. The call for Babes for the Brave switched on another light in the attic and gave me another way to help raise arms against that formidable bully, cancer. If you are a knitter, I urge you to consider knitting some Babes as well.

Knitted Babes by Claire Garland is a treat and you will have a whole world of wonder at your fingertips. You can create wonderful lasting treasures for that special little someone in your life (or a bigger someone!) as well as for adolescent/teen girls fighting cancer by donating to Babes for the Brave. It also serves another purpose... my incessant need to keep my fingers moving and knitting as well as diminishing my recently questioned out of control yarn stash :o)

LIVESTRONG and knit on!

LIVESTRONG

LIVESTRONG Challenge San Jose CA - A journey

We awoke at 5am to NPR. Though not fully awake, we give our bodies fuel for the event.... Bircher Mueslix for Andie & Mags, two pieces of 12 grain toast for Chris. We are on the road by 5:45am. Lance and the 100 milers followed by 65, 50 and 10 mile cyclists began between 7:30am - 7:40am. We 5K runners started at 7:45am on the dot.

It was an amazing sight .. so much yellow... people doing the event as survivors, in memory of and in honor of participants. Thousands of people from different walks of life... all united for a single cause. Kick Cancer's Butt! It was amazing to see and hear Lance Armstrong speak in person. The entire experience was truly inspirational. We look forward to participating next year perhaps in one of the cycling slots.

Maggie and I wore In Memory Of bibs on our back for my dad. 2/3 of the way through she asked me what my Dad would say if he were there. I was caught off guard, but finally said that he would be proud of us. We were cheered on by folks on the side and police officers and fire fighters. A nice feeling to be cheered on by everyday heroes. We crossed the finish all holding hands. One pair of gals came up to tell us that they were feeling pretty tired but that they saw Maggie and she gave them the incentive to push through :o).

Thank you to those of you who supported our team and helped us not only reach, but exceed our personal team goal in fundraising. It was an amazing experience and we are so lucky to have been a part of this event. Here are just a few photos from the morning.

LIVESTRONG

Our LIVESTRONG event is coming up quickly! We're all very excited. We're doing well on fundraising and hope to exceed our goal of $300.

Shameless plug.. if you are looking for a cause and want to donate please visit one of our respective pages .. all funds go toward "Team Rosendin" as we have only specified a Team fundraising goal, not individual.

Maggie's Page * Andie's Page * Chris' Page

Setting goals and achieving them.. that's what Maggie wrote to me in her Mother's Day letter about why she is proud of me. That gave me wings!

This morning we headed out on the trail after Chris returned from his training ride for tomorrow's race. It was already 80 degrees and the sun was pretty intense when not in the cover of the shady sycamores. We chose the Veteran's Park side and plodded our way on the Nature Observation trail.


We took a few breaks here and there, but when I could see Maggie's pluck waning I reminded her of the unconditional depths of the human spirit.... the brave astronauts who went into space not ever knowing if they'd return or the child that is fighting with all their might against cancer.


When I begin to fatigue those are the sorts of things my mind turns to in order to find that tiny bit of energy in the well. I draw on Chris' encouragement and his support of me. I think of my dad who did not have the chance to fight his cancer. I imagine my folks along side of me giving me strength and encouragement. I want them to be proud. I hope that they are proud.


Yet it is always my little Maggie who is the biggest catalyst for me. In her I see so many possibilities. I want to be a strong role model. She makes me want to be the very best of myself. She is my hero.


Maggie and I completed our 5k and we all enjoyed skipping rocks down at the creek. Later we reveled in our hard work and enjoyed an afternoon at the pool.

BE THE CHANGE