Move Mountains, Baby.

♥ On the side of my Starbucks cup (mmm … yummy latte) — The Way I See It:

“There is a subtle difference between a mission and a promise. A mission is something you strive to accomplish — a promise is something you are compelled to keep. One is individual, the other is shared. When a mission and a promise are one and the same … that’s when mountains are moved and races are won.” — Hala Moddelmog, President and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

True Beauty Need Not Hurry, But a Cure Does!

So sorry for the long delay. It has been more than a crazy week. But here are the TEAM BEKAH pictures . . . finally!

Thank you so much, again, to all of you who contributed to Team Bekah: True Beauty, Never Hurries. We raised $595.00!! We had set a much higher goal and, although we wished we would have reached it, we are happy to have contributed what we did. This is our first time running this race as a team, so we learned a lot and are looking forward to next year!

One thing in specific that we learned: BE MORE ORGANIZED!! We forgot to make a meeting spot, and with more than 36,000 people participating in the race, that makes finding each other amongst a sea of pink a bit difficult. We caught up with each other throughout the race, but next year we will definitely have a plan!

I also wish we would have taken more pictures — I was bummed when I realized we did not have one picture of our entire team. My sister played camera girl this year, but next year I would like for us all to have a camera in hand. Again, next time, better planning!

All in all, however, it was a fabulous experience. It is so breathtaking to see that many people in one place, supporting one cause. The rain did not make a difference; those people were there to fight breast cancer, and the did it! It never fails to blow me away when I run past a father and son – or mother or sister or daughter or cousin or aunt or uncle – wearing an “In Memory Of” tag on their shirts. I hope that I could be that strong if I lost a loved one. I hope that I would be out there running.

We were all also so happy to contribute our fund-raising efforts in Bekah’s name. If you are curious about how she is doing, check out her blog. That gal just never ceases to amaze me — her strength is incredible!

I ran much of the race with my youngest brother, Isaac — you will see him waving in the picture at left. He has asthma, and we decided to do a walk/run in order to better help him cope with Pittsburgh’s hilly terrain. We had so much fun recognizing the little things — a young boy playing his guitar and sitting with his mom in their front yard, just watching the race. Their house was decorated with pink banners. Or the beautiful trees that lined the course, which ran through Schenley Park.

I love this race for all of those simple things, and of course the very big matter at hand, breast cancer, too.

Want to jump on the Race for the Cure bandwagon? You may still have time. Check here for a race in your city!

Because True Beauty Does Not Have to Hurry … Ever.

I have wrote before about a favorite quotation of mine in which Poet Rainer Rilke says, “Go into yourself and see how deep is the place from which your life flows.”

I know for sure that I am not yet there, not even close; I have yet to delve deep enough into the waters that constitute my being.

That being said, I can very easily feel and touch the people in my life who have made their way into that deepest part of my soul — and Bekah is one of them.

I wrote about Bekah, a 23-year-old woman battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for the second time, in a post the other day. Through her thoughts and writings in life, and on her blog, Bekah continues to inspire me and people all over the globe every day. In an effort to honor her truthfully beautiful spirit, my family, friends and I have formed a team for the 2008 Susan G. Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure. Our team, Team Bekah: True Beauty, Never Hurries, will be raising money to help fund research for breast cancer, and will be doing so in Bekah’s name (see sidebar on this page).

If you are in the Pittsburgh area, join Team Bekah: True Beauty, Never Hurries today! Come join us on race day, May 11, 2008 where you can run, walk or yell really loudly from the sidelines — we just want to see your faces! And if you cannot make it, sponsor a member of Team Bekah today by making a contribution. You can even visit my personal page and make a gift that will go toward my fund raising goal of at least $500; our team fund raising goal is $5,000!

Please support me, my team, Susan G. Komen and the lovely beauty for whom we all walk and run, Bekah, in this race!!

One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure raises money to fund education, screening and treatment programs for these women and thousands of others in our own community and supports the national search for a cure.

JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER TODAY! EVERY STEP COUNTS!