Mission Moment - Stephanie Caceres (Team In Training Walk Mentor)

A message from Amanda Goble, our Team In Training Campaign Coordinator:

This email was sent to me by Dublin Participant and walk mentor Stephanie Caceres. I was so moved by it that I asked if I could include it in the email and pass it along to all of you, and I think we can all, in our own ways, relate to what she talks about:

I had to sit here and write you something that I was talking about with a special friend today. We were giving each other the reasons for why we choice to be involved or overbook our lives with so many activities. My friend was not in agreement with me that on top of all of my 3 job responsibilities, being a mom of two wonderful children, trying to have an organized and well disciplined home and coping with the emotions of going thru a divorce, and dealing with people judging you on how you are dealing with situations or not dealing with them. That I agreed to be doing another marathon and fundraising. This was crazy - that I am overdoing it and I am getting myself sick. Now I agree that my plate is very full, and I usually wouldn't be this overwhelmed.

But I paused for a second, thinking about how deeply I feel about the choice I made in joining, volunteering, mentoring and participating in such a wonderful TEAM. But I also paused because it reminded me how THANKFUL and FORTUNATE we ALL are for having families, our health, loved ones, even the little things like even being thankful for having a home to come to or call a home. A job, so we can provide for our families, our health, and our strengths etc... I proceeded in telling my friend all this and also reminded my friend that - We don't really think about all this until we are in a crisis. We don't realize that we all make a choice each day to be happy or be miserable.

Now the patients that are our true heroes that we are fundraising for, wake up everyday thanking all of us who donate, and who have volunteered to run/walk 13.1 or 26.2 miles for them to get - one more day of life, one more day of loving and providing for their families, one more day to call their home a home, one more day to say I LOVE YOU to their children or their spouses, one more day to see the sunrise and the sunset, one more day to say I AM HAPPY to be here.

A lot of people do different things to cope with their stresses. Some people watch television, talk with friends, go fishing, work more hours, others workout, and I love to volunteer my time to fundraising and running in a marathon. Everyday that I wake up I choose to be happy and I choose to show my children how thankful we are to have a choice to say I can and I am able to help others. Knowing that I can do this for one of my heroes, inspires me and gives me more strength to cope with all I am going through right now in my life, and it also reminds me that my personal life issues can be changed. I can and have the choice to change what my personal struggles are. I can make changes in my life to make them better, but our heroes can't change their disease, they have no choice, all they can do is have hope that one day soon with OUR help we can find a cure.

I do want to take this opportunity in this letter to Thank those who have helped me get closer to my goal in helping my 4 heroes: Markie, David, Curtis, and Jen !!!!!!!!! Thanks again.