Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Thank you.

I made it through these last few days.  It started on Saturday morning, we woke up at 5:30 to drive to Grand Bend, Ontario for the start of the MS Society Charity ride.  We got there in time for the 7:30 start.  The team rode great and we took breaks at the rest stops in order to refuel with Gatorade, fruit and water.  We rode a total of 55 miles on Saturday and were cheered along the way by grateful Canadians.  Little girls stood on the side of the road with squirt guns asking if we wanted a squirt - YES!!!  I got to the finish line slightly ahead of my team, but as I crossed the line the people were cheering and I could feel Pops and Donna cheering me on and found myself in tears as I crossed the finish line.  There were 1852 riders and we all made it across the finish line healthy on Saturday.  After we finished we got to enjoy University of Western Ontario dinner (really good) and free massages.  There were evening ceremonies where different awards were given for biggest team, most creative team name, biggest fundraisers etc.  Then we all got to sleep in the University dorm....wow has it been a while.  Sunday morning I woke at 6 to eat breakfast and be ready for a 7:30 start again.  we didn't actually start until 8ish.  Going back to Grand Bend was a slightly different route and only 48 miles.  I made good time and got in about 11:45.  Jim and Jeremy were there at the finish cheering me on and a guy they call "High Five Mike" was there too.  He is in a wheelchair and sits just beyond the finish line to high five every rider as we cross.  It was an awesome experience.  There were hills that I thought I'd never make it up, and just as I was ready to get off and walk up the rest of the hill I felt that extra burst and knew that Pops and Donna were pushing me up that hill.

As soon as I got across the finish line we went straight to the car and had to miss more free massage and BBQ.  We were able to get across the border by 2 which allowed me enough time to get a shower and some lunch before we had to leave for the airport.  All our flights were right on-time and Jeremy was a great traveler.  We got into Jacksonville about 10:45 and then went to mom's cousin Tommy's house for the two nights we were there.  Monday we woke up and had breakfast with Tommy and Becky and Tommy's brother Steve and his wife Karen.  It was nice to see some Lee's.  We then headed over to Aunt Susan's to get ready for the service.  It was a beautiful service and I finally let myself mourn.  I'm still mourning so beware I may break down on you.  It is always great to see the family and I got to see many cousins I haven't seen in a while.  It was so nice to touch base in the physical world not just the facebook world.  Jeremy loved being able to play with all the cousins and did not want to come home.

We are home now and life is getting back to normal - at least for a few weeks.  The MS Society is always accepting donations and If you want to help support me in this ride the website for donations is

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