Jim's 40th Birthday

Today would have been Jim's 40th birthday. Even though I was only four, I can remember picking him up from the hospital. I wasn't too sure about why it had to come home with us, but it did and it became my little brother. He eventually surpassed me in height and weight, but he remained my little brother whom I adored. Looking back, he certainly was a cute little Italian baby.


The original film is dark for the first 30 seconds or so, but it lightens up. Also I goofed up on the video slightly...when the pictures and sound go away at 3:20, it's done. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that at about 5 minutes the music starts up again, so the video keeps "running."

Lilac 10K

I love May. I've always loved May. My birthday is May 14th and Jimmy's was the 28th. It was a great month to be a kid - lots of cake and presents! When I got older, I realized that the big old lilac in my grandma's yard bloomed in May. It was so fragrant and pretty. The lilacs in Highland Park remind me of when I was young...before I knew about death. So in my journey to run the Disney Marathon in memory of Jimmy, I chose to run the Lilac 10K. Baby steps I figure will get me to 26.2 miles in January of 2011. Today was wonderful. 6.2 miles of cool and sunny; lilacs in full bloom. I teared up a bit along the route thinking about Jimmy and broke into a full blown cry after I finished. I can't imagine what I'll be like at my next step in September when I drag Jimmy's memory along with me for 13.1 miles at the Rochester Half-Marathon. I hope I cross the finish line just like today - hoping he was proud of me...his overweight 44 year-old sister dragging her butt out to do the impossible to honor his memory.

This is the photo on my running shirt.

Pink Ribbon Run

Today I ran the Pink Ribbon 5K Run with my friend Cheryl. Cheryl is a breast cancer survivor. I didn't hesitate a single second when she asked me to run it with her. My neighbor Melissa joined us. We had a great, although chilly, run this morning along the lake shore. There is a section of the run where you are heading up a slight hill - we were blown away by the sea of pink climbing that hill. Survivors, supporters, and, unfortunately, women running for a cure for breast cancer in memory of someone they'd lost. It was an amazing show of strength and will. Next Sunday, I run the Lilac 10K in my brother's memory. But today was about beating the beast. Today, I was running with my friend - a survivor.