Last week, we participated in the American Cancer Society’s local Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event. The dojo where the kids and I workout organized a team. The kids would each get a blue star signaling community service for their efforts. There were several options for participating but A-man and I decided that walking as a family made the most sense. My mother and his mother have both battled breast cancer and won. Not everyone is so lucky.

This past June, the mother of one of Mim’s classmates lost a valiant battle with breast cancer. She left behind, a devoted husband, a 10 year old and an 8 year old. She also left behind an army of people committed to raising awareness and money for breast cancer research. Lula’s Peeps was the largest team walking with 110 walkers and they raised almost $22,000. Lula would have been proud. She was an amazing woman who never met a stranger. The world is most definitely a lesser place without her, but there is hope that she did not die in vain.

Our walk had more than 6,000 people and it was announced yesterday that New Hampshire is the largest fundraiser per capita for the Making Strides Program. Before the walk, Fish and I took a walk around and noted the local businesses who sponsored teams. I also made note of some of the more humorous team names.

More than a Handful

Fighting to Save Second Base

Hakuna Ma Ta Ta’s

Save our Weapons of Mass Distraction

Thanks for the Mammories

Walkers for Healthy Knockers

A First

I’ve contributed to Making Strides before, but never walked it. It was incredibly well run and despite the slightly soggy weather, I enjoyed it. The kids held up well too. As we walked, we talked at different times about the importance of what we were doing. Who it would impact and how. We talked about being tired but not stopping because Lula was tired and she never stopped, she couldn’t. We talked about euphemisms, who says them and why and what they mean. We talked about the importance to maintaining good health.

According to my fitness tracking app, we walked almost 6 miles and burned 566 calories. Ours was but a very small contribution, but together we can all make a difference.