by Jackie
Piper
I have to
say I really loved our Sunday T-shirt for this year's Door County Challenge
Walk MS. When I unfolded it in the cabin on Thursday night, I thought,
“Cool, I like that message.” And then, as the weekend progressed, I thought,
no, this isn't just a cool T-shirt. This is the perfect message to express what
Challenge Walk is all about. The dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of
expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Here is how I define hope, brought to you by Challenge Walk 2013:
I HOPE YOU CHEER FOR ME: What an amazing job the volunteers who
man the rest stops do. On Saturday, at a particularly painful point in the
walk, a chocolate candy necklace and row of silly cheerleaders made all the
difference.
 |
| Jackie at the 49-mile marker on Day 3 of Challenge Walk MS 2013 |
I HOPE I HAVE FUN: What's more fun than an entire team in orange
evening gowns and menswear? I really can't explain how much fun we all have
doing this ridiculously long walk, but we all do.
I HOPE I MAKE A DIFFERENCE: OK. Here's my theory: Someday there
will be a research project funded by a grant with money from the Challenge Walk
that will find a cure for MS. That money will be raised by individuals who
collected money in dozens of different ways. Maybe someone's $10 donation will
be the difference between a $500,000 grant and one for $499,990. That walker
who made the effort to ask for that donation will have made the biggest
difference in the world. It's just my theory, but every time we raise one
dollar for MS, we make a difference.
I HOPE I FEEL LOVED: The group hug on Sunday afternoon – what a
visible way to show the people who are dealing with this disease every day that
we care.
I HOPE I CAN HOPE: On Sunday at about mile 48 I encountered a
couple who were walking alone together and we struck up a conversation. It
turns out that she has MS and has been on the same medication as my son-in-law
since 2001 without a relapse in all that time. Wow! I felt at that moment,
“So this is why I came”...to listen to a story that inspires hope for Dylan who
was diagnosed just four years ago.
And so we take a little breather now before we roll up our shirt sleeves
and get to work on the business of fighting MS at Challenge Walk 2014.
I HOPE I see you all there.
Great story...goose bumps and can't wait till next year...hope more bring the spirit :-) xo
ReplyDeleteWow what a great and right on way to describe Challenge Walk2013!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the next Challenge walk the day the prior year is over! I love to again see what I call "MY CHALLENGE WALK FAMILY", hear many new stories, meet the "ROOKIES" and give out more hugs than I receive which is hard to do as we all give each other hugs all weekend long! I agree the group hug on Sunday was the best hug of the weekend. We need to put that on the "PLEASE LETS ADD THAT TO THE AGENDA FOR NEXT YEAR" list. I want to thank everyone that took the "CHALLENGE" this year~ whether it was your 1st or 6th time doing this, whether you volunteered, rode a bike or walked, whether you raised the least or the most money, whether you walked 1 mile or 50, whether you had to many drinks or none at all you are now part of this Challenge Walk Family. I am proud of you, love you, I hold a special place in my heart for you, so please know each and everyone of you have made a difference in my life and the lives of many others. GO DIRECTLY TO WI MS SOCIETY E-MAIL, DO NOT SAY NO, DO NOT COLLECT $200 (YOU HAVE TO COLLECT MORE!) Till we meet again-Connie Plier ps-sorry I guess this was more than a comment :)
sorry I wanted to reply as ME but anonymous came up I can't see so well so I will blame it on that! :)
DeleteJackie, thanks so much for taking on this blog.....you brought a tear to my eye and made my day. Each and every member of the Challenge Walk family is a precious gift to all people with MS and with that said......... I hope that every member of our Challenge Walk family has... strength when they need it, laughter everyday and love always......till next year dear friends if not before, take care and heartfelt thanks. Colleen
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this--this was our first challenge walk and we went into withthe thought it was a one time thing but by the end of the first day we decided this was not our only time just our first time, since we have people that have expressed interest in joining us on a team this next year--we met so many wonderful people and all had a special reason why they walked--the finish on Sunday was very powerful and brought me to tears--we posted our 4 feet on as our team was 4 feet walking with the statement that between them we covered 100 miles with hope--we don't know how many feet walking will be in our team this next year with the joke we were 4 feet walking and 2 asses dragging--see you in 2014 Joe and Tina The Youngs
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