Hello friends!
For week 9, my reason to run is a pretty great one: for my friends! As a little kid, I had no problem making friends in my tiny elementary school. But in the big middle school, I found myself without the kids I grew up with, and suddenly one of the least popular kids in my grade. I vividly remember the pain of being one of those kids who just didn’t fit in; I was the one girl in my class not invited to birthday parties, the last one chosen in gym class, and nobody wanted me as a roommate on school field trips. This isn’t supposed to make you feel bad for me; things obviously changed for the better! The point is, I am not one of those people who takes friendship for granted; once I saw what life was like without them, friends became a one of my most precious assets.
Nowadays, I have a really wonderful and extensive network of friends, "collected" over time from various stages of life. There are my friends from high school, mostly from Drama Club and Marching Band, who taught me how to be myself in all my geeky glory. After high school, I lost touch with many of them until moving back to my hometown a few years ago; I’m so grateful to have them back in my life. As we grow older, there is something special about keeping close to those who knew us when we were children. There are also my friends from college; we also all started out as kids and grew into adults over the course of 4 years and the immediate years following, and many of us are lucky to remain extremely close no matter how far-flung across the planet we all may be- Minneapolis, Atlanta and Iceland just to name a few spots! Then there are my friends from my working life; Children’s Hospital and Mass General both introduced me to some of the most amazing women in my life whom I’ve kept up with even after leaving the jobs, and BC has brought brand new fantastic people into my circle as well. There are other friends too; friends I’ve made through ex-boyfriends, friends who are ex-boyfriends, friends I’ve made through mutual friends whom neither of us even talk to anymore. Some friends are like family; some friends are family. One thing that I’ve noticed about my thirties is how friend groups blend and join together; it’s sometimes hard to even remember we all met, but I just know how lucky I feel to have all of them in my life. I won’t name all of my close friends here, but know that one of the reasons I have the strength to run and train every day is through your support. I am so very lucky to have each of you in my life, and it’s your funny stories, your words of encouragement and your mere presence as my friend makes every step worth it. I love you all!
This week’s training was pretty good, at least weather-wise; great news, I could finally see the sidewalk!! No ice!! I was pretty slow, but whatever, I did it. I’m officially changing my diet for the next few weeks to see if I can knock off a few pounds and speed up a little bit; only time will tell how that goes!
Fundraising update: I’m at just about 35% of my goal. This next month will mark the time when I begin to personally reach out to many people, including my wonderful friends, so stay tuned. Know how much I appreciate the gifts that have already come in – your support is so important to me, but more importantly to the Mass General pediatric hematology oncology patients! On behalf of them, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Until next week,
Meg
For week 9, my reason to run is a pretty great one: for my friends! As a little kid, I had no problem making friends in my tiny elementary school. But in the big middle school, I found myself without the kids I grew up with, and suddenly one of the least popular kids in my grade. I vividly remember the pain of being one of those kids who just didn’t fit in; I was the one girl in my class not invited to birthday parties, the last one chosen in gym class, and nobody wanted me as a roommate on school field trips. This isn’t supposed to make you feel bad for me; things obviously changed for the better! The point is, I am not one of those people who takes friendship for granted; once I saw what life was like without them, friends became a one of my most precious assets.
Nowadays, I have a really wonderful and extensive network of friends, "collected" over time from various stages of life. There are my friends from high school, mostly from Drama Club and Marching Band, who taught me how to be myself in all my geeky glory. After high school, I lost touch with many of them until moving back to my hometown a few years ago; I’m so grateful to have them back in my life. As we grow older, there is something special about keeping close to those who knew us when we were children. There are also my friends from college; we also all started out as kids and grew into adults over the course of 4 years and the immediate years following, and many of us are lucky to remain extremely close no matter how far-flung across the planet we all may be- Minneapolis, Atlanta and Iceland just to name a few spots! Then there are my friends from my working life; Children’s Hospital and Mass General both introduced me to some of the most amazing women in my life whom I’ve kept up with even after leaving the jobs, and BC has brought brand new fantastic people into my circle as well. There are other friends too; friends I’ve made through ex-boyfriends, friends who are ex-boyfriends, friends I’ve made through mutual friends whom neither of us even talk to anymore. Some friends are like family; some friends are family. One thing that I’ve noticed about my thirties is how friend groups blend and join together; it’s sometimes hard to even remember we all met, but I just know how lucky I feel to have all of them in my life. I won’t name all of my close friends here, but know that one of the reasons I have the strength to run and train every day is through your support. I am so very lucky to have each of you in my life, and it’s your funny stories, your words of encouragement and your mere presence as my friend makes every step worth it. I love you all!
This week’s training was pretty good, at least weather-wise; great news, I could finally see the sidewalk!! No ice!! I was pretty slow, but whatever, I did it. I’m officially changing my diet for the next few weeks to see if I can knock off a few pounds and speed up a little bit; only time will tell how that goes!
Fundraising update: I’m at just about 35% of my goal. This next month will mark the time when I begin to personally reach out to many people, including my wonderful friends, so stay tuned. Know how much I appreciate the gifts that have already come in – your support is so important to me, but more importantly to the Mass General pediatric hematology oncology patients! On behalf of them, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Until next week,
Meg