Hope in Community

In July of 2009, a young local woman named Lacey was diagnosed with Leukemia. I did not know her personally but knew family members and friends of hers. Anyone who knew her said she was always kind and had a friendly smile for everyone.

It wasn't surprising then that in the 6 months between her diagnosis and her death, there was an outpouring of support for her and her family in this community. A largely successful benefit was held to raise money for medical bills related to cancer treatments.

After Lacey's death, the family decided to give back to the community by holding a Smile from Lacey event to raise money for a fund designed to help families in our community battling serious illness without insurance.

It started small last year and this year has expanded to a whole weekend of activities including a 5K run appropriately called Hope in Community. I had wanted to be part of something special today on the 10th anniversary of 9-11. So I chose this.

There are so many heroes being honored today. I don't want us to forget about the courage it takes to battle a serious illness or life-threatening disease. And the rare individuals who can do that and smile. God bless them.

Our neighborhood contingency -- the Desperate Housewives of Blue Jay Drive -- numbered 4 runners today supporting this cause. There was also a half-marathon option but we all did the 5K. I'll save my half for next weekend!

What I have discovered this summer is that with my long-distance training of "you go slow, you go far," I have had much slower times doing short 5Ks. Hubby came by before the start so he could take some pictures. I said, "Start looking for me at the 30-minute mark, but hopefully before the 33." Hey, I've never claimed to be fast!

I had a smile for him at the start. It was sunny and warm and I just wanted to run well. It felt good today. Sometimes I get started too fast and lose my breath. Today, I paced myself and figured I'd finish at about 32 the way it was going. Then, for some reason in the last mile, a woman caught up to me and I suddenly had this drive to finish ahead of her. I thought she might be in my "age group" so I, being of competitive mind at times, pushed myself. As I got toward the finish, I really, really, really had to push myself to finish under 30. And I did!

Just barely! Look at the time! Ha. And see my lovely face? Let's just say I was glad that was over. And surprise of all surprises, I finished 2nd in my age group... well enough to get a medal today! My very first one, ever! I was ecstatic! Yes, it was a small field of runners so in a much larger race, there is no way I would have placed in the top 5 with that finish time. But I don't care. After all my "attempts," I've earned it!

As luck -- and skill -- would have it, neighbor Marigene (left) finished first in my age group and neighbor Cindy finished first for her age group and for women overall. You can't get much bigger smiles than that!

I think Lacey would have liked that.

God bless her and all we remember, honor and miss today.