3-Day Journey: Day 3

At 4am those darn cell phone alarms went off. Let’s just say we were even less enthusiastic than we were the morning before. Lots of grumbling and groaning. We got dressed, I bandaged my feet, strapped on both knee braces, we packed our bags, rolled up the sleeping mats, folded the tarps and stuffed the sleeping bags. Then we had to tear down the tent and pack that up too. In the dark. When it was really cold. Before coffee.

We finished up and dumped everything with those insufferably perky crew members by the semi trailers that somehow appeared in the middle of the night and parked a mere 100 or so feet from us without our knowledge. We made it to the breakfast and coffee lines and then sat as far away from the other perky people as possible. Wendy found us (as she is also very similar to us in personality) and we all sat there glowering and chugging coffee while waiting for instructions to head to the school buses that rolled into camp.

Once on the bus we all sat in relative silence as everyone around us was also sore, tired, had some kind of pain somewhere and was bone cold. We had been camping in Redmond and we were heading to our new starting point at the University of Washington. We were unloaded at the arboretum and we wound our way around the university, through the center of campus (what an amazingly beautiful campus!), along the main road where the sororities and frat houses were (and during rush evidently), down through some beautiful neighborhoods and to a lake.

When we hit the lake I was dying of pain. My feet had reached an all time high in terms of pain and I had already been eating Motrin as though they were orange Tic Tacs. I think I was at 8 by this point. But the lake was a designated cheering station and there were so many people lining both sides of the walkway cheering us on. They had cookies, held signs, handed out bubble gum and Red Vines, little kids were handing out stickers to put on our hands, one person had brought home made pink walking sticks made out of pvc pipe, one person was waving tuct tape for people with blisters that needed securing, some people had little pom poms that they were waving and one old Asian woman came up and shook Michelle’s and my hands. I had no choice – I had to suck it up. But I have to tell you, by this point I was seriously considering gnawing my feet off at the ankles just to stop the pain. Those were the hardest three miles of the entire walk and I was about to cry. But then it became manageable again and after downing a Red Bull at a gas station we walked by I had more energy. Michelle suffered in silence, but even she told me later that those cheering stations really helped her through some tough spots too.

We had lunch at a really pretty place called Gas Works Park that overlooked Seattle and we could have enjoyed it more had we not just been thinking about finishing the walk. We ate in record time, hit the potty, stretched and headed back out. The rest of the walk was really pretty which helped distract us. We walked along the many piers, (we loved the cheering sections people had set up through there with the Gatorade margaritas) through downtown and over to the Aquarium. Our last pit stop was at a parking lot across from there and it was then that I had to re-tape up some spots on my feet and switched to dry socks so we could finish. Michelle grabbed another bag of pretzels (she got one at every single stop that day) and we headed out.

By this point we were two miles from the Space Needle and the Seattle Center where our finish line was. People were everywhere cheering us on. Cars and motorcycles were honking, tour buses waved at us and we kept singing that Christmas song “Just put one foot in front of the other and soon you’ll be walking across the floor...” It was our personal mantra. We heard other people saying “left, left, left right left…” We were so darn close. When we finally looked up and saw the needle it was so darn close, we were only a couple of hills away.

When we finally got to the top and headed down the drive into the Seattle Center we saw a massive crowd waiting for us. They burst out into applause and were cheering all of us on. We (even Michelle) couldn’t stop smiling. We walked by two little girls holding a huge blow up picture of their mother who was taken at the young age of 37 in 2006 by breast cancer and I almost burst into tears. They had a huge team and I saw them all weekend, but didn’t know the story until later. It broke my heart that their mother had to leave them so young. Thankfully she had a sister who is obviously honoring their mother the best way she knows how and they will be well loved. They are why we walked.

At the bottom of the walkway we were handed some pink shoelaces by one person and a cold drink by another person. We walked to the entrance of the holding area and those blessed crew members were there again cheering us on and telling us how fabulous we were. We walked through the door and down some stairs to a huge applause and blaring music. We felt like rock stars. People were smacking our hands, congratulating us, hooting for us, making us feel so wonderful. We were pumped full of adrenaline and were floating on a little cloud. We were then given a t-shirt and a pink rose (courtesy of Pro Flowers.com) and then had a picture of us taken in front of the completion sign. We found our way to a corner and sat down, exhausted but buzzed. Wendy found us again and we all waited there for a couple of hours until it was time to go into the stadium. We had somehow been one of the first people to make it to the finish line.
After a while, when all the walkers had finished or been collected, we all were lined up and sent out to the stadium where we were met with thousands of people applauding us. Man…it was overwhelming. It wasn’t until that moment when we turned around and saw the actual full 3,500 people filing in. It took forever to get everyone in. Then there was a big inspirational speech thanking our sponsors, thanking us, thanking our crew (they are the most amazing people EVER), and then there was a special time when the survivors walked in. They had all been given pink shirts to wear. Everyone had taken off one of their shoes and they held them in the air as a salute to those men (yes, men can get breast cancer) and women who had fought and survived the disease. I couldn't help but think of my my mom as everyone was saluting the survivors - I love you!

They announced that our walk alone had raised over 8.6 million dollars!!! That is a lot of money to go towards the fight. At the end of everything we collected our bags and loaded our bus back to the hotel in Bellevue. We sat there with our IPods on and I fell asleep. I have to tell you, that shower at her house felt SO GOOD! And I will not take indoor plumbing for granted again!!!

With the help of my family and friends I was able to raise $2,467.00!! I think that I still have a few corporate matches that will bring my total even higher. Thank you all so much for your support!!!

All in all, it was an honor to walk for my mother and Lynn. I feel good that we were able to do something for these most important women in our lives. We can’t be there to bring them dinner, or take them to the doctor, or just hold their hand when they don’t feel good – but we were able to do something in HONOR of them if nothing else.

We love both you beautiful and wonderful ladies!! You guys are the real rock stars.