Me and Lou
new T-shirt from Betty:
strong is the new strong
(love it)

The Make-a-Wish run on Friday was a magnificent event and a huge success! There was a beautiful, powerful, positive energy and a bright sunny day to witness the event. Lou made me Grand Marshall of the day and his friend Connie crowned me with a tiara, a feather boa and a colorful badge! There were also two kids who have struggled with their health and whose wishes Lou had helped with in the past. Mike, Michael and Maggie were all there to kick off the event along with the 500 Pathfinder students, some of their parents and the staff. We walked off and on all morning (Mike had to leave early to get to work) with a variety of friends and students. At one point I was walking with my dear former student Hannah, she looked at me and asked me what I had wished for, I said, my wish is coming true right now. She gave me a big smile. Hannah’s smiles always warm my heart…they are good medicine to me!

The whole event was healing and uplifting. I walked with my teacher friends, parent friends, former students and future students. I took a break from the walk after Michael and Maggie left and went in to get to know “my kids” a little better. Jessica let me read aloud a few stories to them after lunch. I spent some time learning their names and getting to know them just a little bit. It was exhausting and reminded me what I need to gear up for in the fall! (For those of you not from Seattle; Washington is 47th in the nation for class size and 26 5 &6 year olds is a busy classroom!)

I couldn't quite make it through the whole day, but I went outside and walked 2 more laps with Lou before I left. He is an amazing man, with an amazing heart who has done so much for the Make-a-Wish organization and for our community. Lou gets to retire in a couple of weeks. He will be greatly missed.

Jessica, Janet, David, Jennifer and Maggie
Maggie is wearing her Pathfinder Unicycle Team T-shirt!
Lou is famous for his unicycle teams!

Yesterday I had another appointment with my fabulous naturopath, Dr. Standish. We talked about many things, including all the things she will do after my last chemo, to help me get strong and ready for the fall. I asked her for suggestions for when we travel to Ireland. She told me to forget about taking my supplements (leave the glutamine and turkey tail at home), don’t worry about what is or isn’t organic, just enjoy the vacation. I told her I was going to drink the waters of Ireland, she said, great! I said, I mean the Guinness and the Jameson. She said, I know what you mean! Guinness is good for you, full of B vitamins! So, there you go, I have the blessing of one of the smartest women I know! 

We have a super busy weekend coming up, one more chemo next week, then we have 3 weeks to get ready for out trip! One step at a time, but it looks like it is really going to happen this  year!

With love and hope and strength,

Janet