#547 Get Up!

Sometimes you just have to get out of bed. Last night was one of those nights when the glorious sleep fairies avoided me and as my eyes slowly opened this morning after a nanosecond of sleep I thought staying in the sack might be better for everyone instead of pretending like all was well.  It would have been so much easier to hide and retreat from the world but, alas, I slowly moved from my state of inertia and joined the human race.

Actually having a cancer diagnosis often puts squandering a morning or a whole day out of the realm of possibilities for me.  I feel I must drive myself to grab those awake moments and celebrate the fact that I am still moving and alive.  In my mind I feel this could be my last best day and I would have frittered it away by grabbing a few lost zzzz's. Waste a perfectly good day?  I think not.

Or do I?  Do I have to expect every single day to be proclaimed my last BEST DAY EVER?  That in itself can be overwhelming and just plain exhausting so I will allow myself to let a day slip by without fanfare or celebration.  It really is okay.  The word humdrum can be underrated when defining a monotonous day but if I want to nap, sit and read a book or simply put my feet up and think of nothing, it is absolutely okay.

So this day I did get out of bed, growled a bit about my sleepless night and then let the day present itself.  Was it spectacular?  Actually it was.  On my walk to shake off the cobwebs in my head I was able to view up close and personal a beautiful hummingbird's nest made out of twigs, plant fibers and bits of leaves all woven together with spider silk.   This stunning display of nature was nestled by my neighbor's front door and not only was it exquisite, but the two navy bean sized eggs put me over the top on the "wow" factor.

Yep, this was the BEST DAY EVER and thank goodness I didn't miss it.  The old saying if you snooze you lose seems quite apropos for today's event and one I will remember the next time those sleep fairies disappear and leave me a groggy mess not wanting to get out of bed.  Lesson learned to rise up and greet the day because one never knows what could be right around the corner.

A close up of the eggs

Thanks for reading #547 of 7777.

#546 $333,339!!!!!

http://weknowyourdreams.com/surprise.html

Guess what?  The numbers are in and we are proud to announce the results of our 2017 fundraising efforts. Drum roll, please...  The impressive financial count for the UW Carbone Cancer Center-More For Stage IV fund is a whopping $333,339!  In one year! We are still trying to wrap our heads around this as we pick up our dropped jaws.  How on earth does this happen and what will transpire because of this windfall?

First, it happened due to a group of dedicated people who are committed to helping those of us living with this disease and their desire keep us around longer than the medium life expectancy of three years.  Our friends offered their lovely homes and provided delicious appetizers which then gave us the opportunity to stand on our soapbox to shout out our request for more funding as well as offering an ongoing education of MBC.   At each event our rockstar researchers presented an informative piece on where the research dollars would go to improve our lives.  Stepping out of their labs and onto the stage showed their commitment to the cause and continues to impress us all.

And the money flowed in.  It was gratifying for us to see actual faces of our donors and show our appreciation to them on the spot.  Thousands of dollars were generated each night we held a function and it certainly inspired us to seek out others to join our rally cry.

Because of their generosity we were able to hand over the total sum--100% of each dollar contributed--to our researchers so they can develop new treatments or add to an existing one as it benefits the already metastasized patient.  Tremendous financial help is on the way as they now share their ideas on what to do with the funds. I am in awe of their skills they will use so my beautiful granddaughter will have her Grandma G around to watch her grow up.

But we are not done.  There still is no cure so we can not sit back and pat ourselves on the back for our one year of phenomenal success.  A plan needs to be created on how we can top that ginormous number.  We certainly could use additional ideas and your creativity as we spend the winter brainstorming other ways to raise the bar.  How would you suggest we tackle our next project? Please, help be part of the solution as we navigate through the complex labyrinth of the fundraising world.  I will keep swimming but we need other angles to bring in the dough.  Don't hesitate to suggest something outrageous--all feedback will help us move on to that next level-- unless it is something along the lines of me swimming sans bathing suit.  Not going to happen.

Again, thank all of you for your tremendous ongoing support.  If you haven't donated or would like to be one of the first donators of the year, please send it to More for Stage IV--UW Carbone Cancer Center.  Remember this quote from Anne Frank, "No one has ever become poor by giving".

Thanks for reading #546 of 7777.