So the daughter was hanging out with me the other day. She came over and we rented some movies and popped popcorn (Yes, it WAS the only thing in the house. I didn't BURN it!) While the movie was playing, her cell phone rang.
Ordinarily, I wmight have groused about her pausing the movie to answer it because she wouldn't have done it had we actually GONE to the movie. In fact, she would have silenced her phone for the courtesy of the other guests. Well, it was grandma, and she doesn't always answer when grandma calls (I rarely do, either... so the fact that the kid did, makes her a special one).
Anyway, long story short... grandma wanted to let her know that she had some chow mein there and she wanted to giver her some of it... It was chicken, the kind Kel used to LOVE when she was little. K didn't have the heart to tell her she had decided to get back on her vegetarian diet again because she thought she was much healthier that way. She figured she could just give the food to her roommates.
Grandma: Okay. Well be sure and stop by to pick it up in the next couple of days now, won't you? This was in my freezer and got thawed out the other day, so it really needs to be eaten up. It's fine, though, because it was just plain chow mein before and I added the chicken to it just now nice and fresh.
I told the child I wanted her to have nothing to do with that food and to throw it away as soon as it came into her possession. But she was a little perplexed. Grandma had assured her, after all. Besides, she didn't plan on eating it. She was just going to feed it to her roommates.
Let's say your mom has a big freezer in the garage to keep her overflow of extra frozen foods... let's also say that there is a lock on the freezer because for some reason, it doesn't automatically swing shut anymore when people are finished retrieving things from it the way it used to. So she walks out to your garage and discovers that someone forgot to lock the door the last time they were out there and the door is ajar. OOPS! And everything in the freezer has thawed. OH NO!
There are three unbaked apple pies in this freezer. Beautiful apple pies that aren't exactly fresh... they were put together in January and this isn't exactly the first time her freezer has done this thaw thing, either. It happened once before. OOPS again!
So mom is calling you. She is calling you to say that she is baking up the three pies and intends to give one to each of her three children, you and your two sibs because she doesn't think she should freeze them again.
Here is the poll for you, dear friends/readers...
I'm definitely taking the pie from good old mom so nobody else gets it. And checking with brothers to find out what they plan to do with their pies... but what I want you to tell me is,
What would YOU do with the pie?
"Hi, baked the pie but it must have had to much liquid in it from unthawing. I took it from the oven and it folded in half. So we are cleaning the oven now and had to scrub my floor and other things, it will be nice to get it all done but what a day.
Signed,
Tired Mom"
Poor mom. No pie for us! Poor us. ;-)
So the teenager is finding new and interesting things to do for fund raising every day. This week she is making headbands to sell to her friends and family, and other interested parties. This is me wearing such a headband. But they have gotten even more cute. I wish she'd get many more photographs taken. Because we are talking seriously cute. (Not me, the headbands...). She is giving all proceeds from the headbands to the ACS. And after the Relay? She'll be collecting all of the proceeds for her Send Keli to Europe! fund. So I hope she sells a lot of then then, too. :)
So we're down to the wire. And I was going to just let it slip on by and not really say another word about it unless there was something big to say. And I can't really imagine what that something would be.
I had no intentions of sending out any emails or letters or postcards to friends and family and fellow bloggers to say that the Relay is upon us and won't you please consider donating now before it happens? You know.. sort of one final public television type fund raising drive push... operators are standing by to take your call sort of thing.
That's right. I wasn't going to do that. I just didn't have the energy this year. Frankly, I'm tired. Exhausted actually. I'm tired of people telling me that they aren't going to have a team this year because it just isn't any fun anymore. Or because it was too disorganized last year. Or we just haven't come up with any new ideas and it has been the same old things for the past few years so why should they bother?
But then a funny thing happened. I entered all of the offline donations I had from Operation Surrender Dorothy and sales from the Truffle Pops and checks from the garage sale... and when I finished all of these and looked at the
My team is shooting for a mid-range number of $5000. For a family team that doesn't work for any company with a company match, that's a pretty darn-good number to hit fund-raising, I think. But considering we raised $11,000 a couple of years ago, I also think we should be able to do this $5k every year with some creative thinking.
The Relay is on Friday and we have only hit $3000. We need some SERIOUS creativity to come up with another two-grand by Friday. I'm open to suggestions. Or money, of course. Click my team's link to donate. You can donate there or click on any of the team member's names to donate to them directly.
Keli is trying to collect money to shave her head in support of her dad and all survivors. She hasn't set a dollar goal at this point. I'll keep you posted when she finally comes up with one. She was thinking of having people actually help her shave it AT the Relay. I'll post video or photos if this happens.
Keri (yeah, that's me) was shooting for $1000 in donations. I've already generated far more than this, but I've been sharing the wealth baaaaayyyyyybeeee by spreading it around with other team members who are busy having lives as students and full time employees and don't have the kind of time on their hands that I do. So now I'm stuck here not meeting my goal because time's a running out and I'm $255 short of my goal because of moving donations around to other pots. If you want, you could help me out there and spread a donation or two my way to help make up for that. :)
So I hope you'll consider one more charity this week. I know you've given until it hurts elsewhere. But I seriously don't know anyone who's life hasn't been touched by cancer. I know more than most. It's the nature of the game, I suppose. That's why at the end of the day my receipts for ACS are a lot longer than the receipts for anyone else. But I feel pretty darned thankful that I have a husband today. And for the fact that he is who he is. And I'm going to keep being thankful to ACS for all that they do for people like me and like Keith, and for anyone who has to go through what we did. Because they have programs to help get through the day to day. When you just don't think you can.
Maybe we won't make that dollar goal this year. But we had a helluva good time trying. Which was the real goal this year anyway. Thanks to all of you who helped us in that project. And thanks to everyone who also sent the donations.
You ROCK. I know that it meant something to you.
As superstitions go, Friday the 13th is the one day not to cross a black cat or walk underneath a ladder. On Friday, April 13, 2001, Keith Kennedy’s doctor discovered a brain tumor, and he was told he would never work again.
“I fought a brain tumor awhile back,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy, 42, an independent information technology consultant and longtime Hudson resident, defied his odds and has resumed working. Though he is now plagued by epilepsy, a common side effect of surviving such conditions, he has regained the majority of his functioning abilities, he said.
“I was told that I was pretty lucky,” Kennedy said.
The tumor Kennedy contracted was difficult to classify, said Keri Kennedy, Keith’s wife of almost 12 years. It was an astrocytic tumor, but any further classification was not determined.
An astrocytic tumor is a lump that grows on the cells that support and protect the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site.
Keri said they went to five oncologists to determine the exact classification, but came up with no precise conclusion.
“The type that it is most like is a brain tumor that comes back,” Keith said. “So, they’re keeping a close eye on it.”
Two months after the tumor was discovered, Keith had surgery to remove as much of it as possible at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and began the long journey to recovery.
“They removed a pretty sizeable part of my brain,” he said. “I spent a year at home after the surgery not functioning well at all.”
Possible treatment options for a brain tumor include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. However, for Keith’s tumor, chemotherapy was not a viable option. Surgery was the first route chosen to remove the cancer cells, but radiation is being kept as an option for the future, Keith said.
Keith is currently living cancer-free with few problems resulting from the tumor, Keri said. As of yet, there has been no sign of a relapse.
Since Keith was diagnosed in 2001, the Kennedy family has been an active part of Relay For Life, a team event to fight cancer hosted by the American Cancer Society.
This year, Keith was chosen to be the honorary chairperson for the Hudson-area event, taking place June 22-23 at Rock Elementary School.
As the honorary chair, Keith not only is a part of his family’s team, but also will give a speech at the luminary ceremony and will lead the survivor’s lap during the event.
“My wife is on the committee so I know how I was elected,” Keith said. “I definitely felt honored by it [being nominated]. It’s intimidating to have to give a speech and also do this interview.”
Though Keri is on the committee for the Hudson relay, it was their daughter Keli that nominated him to be the honorary chairperson this year.
Lori DeBoer, chair of the Hudson-area Relay For Life, said both Keith and Keri have shown great dedication to the cause and to the relay.
“One of the reasons we chose him for the honorary chair position is because he really had a long journey,” DeBoer said. “He is such a firm believer in what ACS can do and has done.”
Keith, Keri and their daughter Keli will be walking in the relay for their sixth year. In 2002, the Kennedy family, along with several members of their extended family, joined the hospital’s team in order to be a part of the event. In 2003, Keri created “Keith’s Brain Trust,” a team comprised of Keith, Keri, Keli, a couple of family friends and several family members, primarily from Keri’s side since they are located in the area.
“For a small family team, it has definitely had some amazing years,” Keith said. “The team has won a lot of awards for the event over the years.”
Ever since Hudson has gone online for fundraising and organizing the teams, “Keith’s Brain Trust” has done well raising money, Keri said.
“The first year we were online, our team was on top,” she said. “Over time we’ve won gold and silver and platinum. We’ve done pretty well fundraising.”
Keri was the top individual online fundraiser in 2005 and the team was the top online fundraiser in 2005 for all of Wisconsin. That was the year the team reached platinum status bringing in over $11,000. In 2006, Keith’s Brain Trust reached gold status, raising over $5,000; in 2004 they were a silver team raising just shy of $5,000, Keri said.
This year’s Relay For Life team is online again fundraising and encouraging people to get involved. Keri is one of the main contacts for the Hudson-area Relay For Life event.
“Keri does a lot for Relay For life,” DeBoer said. “She takes on the online and the registration. She’s also in charge of the newsletter. Without her help with registration, we wouldn’t have an event.”
Keri is already planning next year’s event by training in her replacement, someone to fill in with registration and the online work, DeBoer said. All of the work is done voluntarily.
“She’s very dedicated,” DeBoer said. “I can only imagine that it’s like a part-time job; she dedicates so much time.”
In the past, Keith’s Brain Trust has done well fundraising and also has had a full team of 15 people with extras that go to the event to support and help out in any way possible.
At press time, the team for next week’s event has 12 of the 15 available slots filled and has raised approximately $1,500.
Keri said that they have been focusing on getting the community involved and creating awareness of Relay For Life. The theme this year is “Wizard of Oz,” so they’ve been placing broomsticks and witches hats in neighborhoods as reminders.
“Our goal this year, instead of focusing so much on the monetary part of fundraising is to have fun and promote the event as a whole,” Keri said. “We really want to get out into the community and get as many people interested as possible.”
For more information about Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org. For information about the Hudson event, call Lori DeBoer at (715) 386-2300, ext. 7806, or visit www.acsevents.org/relay/wi/hudson.
“This year we want to be the team that has as much fun as possible,” Keri said.
Relay for Life is for people of all ages who are interested in joining the fight against cancer. Keith’s Brain Trust is encouraging everyone to participate.
Keith said, “I am a cancer survivor.”
Day 1 - First, here's what we're doing... In case you haven't already read or seen me posting it in the fifteen other places I put it out there... heh. The Relay theme this year is Over The Rainbow, as seen here.
So last week I took a hike up Little Devil's Tower in SoDak. It isn't very big as mountains go. Quite a bit smaller than Harney Peak which we climbed a couple of years ago when we were out there. And, which was our destination again this year. But things happen. Things like snow storms. Yeah even in late May. It wasn't expected. And we weren't prepared. Should have been. But weren't. So we looked at the empty parking lot at the trail head for Harney and decided to hike something that had a little less distance to it in case the clouds that were hovering in the distance and looked a lot more threatening than the ones we were being picked on by, decided to dump something much more substantial. Because you don't want to be blindsided miles up a mountain path without the right supplies. You don't want to be lost and be the ones too stupid to have the right stuff with you.
So we settled on Little Devil's Tower. And along for the ride in my heart? Some familiar names around here... Mary Anne, who was having surgery the day after we climbed; and Cindy (aka chemogirl1963) who has had a recurrence of her cancer and is beginning chemo once again; and a new friend of mine from my home town, DickS, who also began his own chemo treatments on the same day Mary Anne had her surgery. He is also entering a long-term cancer trial due to the extreme rarity of his particular form of colon cancer.
It took us just over an hour to reach the summit, about a three mile
hike. We saw two other people during that time. And one of those was
jumping into his pickup truck at the trail head and driving away. The
other was a guy who was photographing the arrows sign you see at the
split of two trails if you go through the slide show I'm going to try
and make into a video some day. It goes really nicely with U2's
Beautiful Day. 
After he took that photo, he hiked back down the tenth of a mile to the
parking lot and he too got into his car and drove away. We do not know
if he did any hiking.
The fun part about having hiked that day was the story we were able to tell as a result. There was so much chatter going around about the crazy weather pattern that was happening with the very warm weather leading up to the weekend we traveled out and then that day and the couple of days around it very high winds and bad cold and even snow! It was crazy. So we let them chat for a while before we dropped the, "We were up on top of Little Devil's Tower that day," bomb. And then when they would exclaim with surprise that we were on TOP of it??? We'd say that we had wanted to climb Harney, but with the snow, we settled for climbing the tower instead and they'd be amazed that anyone would want to be out climbing in the snow and the winds that day. Because although you can't tell by the photos that the wind was bad, trust me. It was bad.
So Mary Anne, Cindy and Dick... I thank you for being the inspirations for my first Climb for the Cure. I had a fabulous time and want you to know that you were there with me in spirit. And most importantly, I wish you each great health, great peace and great joy.
]]>The question is being asked Why are you involved with Relay For Life? So I thought this would be a good time to answer that question. It isn't an easy answer, however.
I'm making a list of new Inspirations not for me, but for those who will be visiting my garage sale later this week. I want them to be inspired so that they will dig deeply into their purses and pockets when they are making their purchases. Yep. I'm not pricing things, ladies and gents. I'm simply saying "Won't you please look around you at the people who inspire me to do this year after year and give generously to the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life?"
Since our last garage sale in May of last year:
This is just a 'top of my head' go of a recent list of inspirations for the garage sale. You can bet it is a running list and much more will be added.
I hope if you have additions to make, you will do so in the comments. Your help in building my inspiration wall for the garage sale will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
]]>