Help Wanted!

Heroes aren’t the people who star in movies. Heroes aren’t the people who make the most money. Heroes aren’t even the people who are the smartest or the fastest or the nicest. Heroes are those everyday people who do extraordinary things. From policemen, firefighters, and soldiers to doctors and nurses to mom’s and dad’s—heroes are the people who openly, willingly, and freely help others. Until recently though, I had never really thought about who my “heroes” were. Sure, I was grateful for all of the sacrifices that others had given--from soldiers laying down their lives to doctors going to countless years of school to learn to my mom’s endless love and support—but--I had never truly recognized or acknowledged the notion of “heroes.”

Yet, that all changed when my Mom and Chris chose to have my brother, Andrew and my sister, Erin become organ and cornea donors. Through this selfless act, my siblings were able to transform into heroes, who have not only helped 7 other people to physically live and thrive but have inspired countless others to give a little bit of what they have to help even more people. What exactly do I mean? Well, when my Mom and Chris made the decision to donate Erin’s cornea and Andrew’s cornea and organs, we were introduced to a wonderful group of people from LifeBanc. During the time at the hospital, as doctors and nurses worked to monitor and prepare Andrew to help make sure his organ’s were healthy and could be donated, LifeBanc covered ALL of the medical expenses. Then, after Andrew’s organs had been sent to different areas all over the country, LifeBanc helped us to contact the recipients and we have even received a thank-you letter from the man who received Andrew’s heart. And that is only the beginning. LifeBanc has continued to help us through this difficult time of healing by providing us with an outpouring of support, whether it is just a quick e-mail or a phone call to say hello, we feel so blessed to have had the opportunity for Erin and Andrew to become heroes.

And now I am asking for a small favor from everyone who reads my blog. LifeBanc is having a 5K/10K/1.5 Walk Fundraiser on August 14th at Blossom Music Center in Cleveland, Ohio. My family has formed a team, The Drewin Crew and would love to add to our growing list of runners and walkers. We currently have the largest team and have been blown away by the outpouring of donations we have received. There is even a press release going out about the event (click here to read!) to help generate even more support. Even if you can’t make it for the run (since I know most of my blog friends don’t live near Cleveland), we are also able to accept monetary donations for the team. All the proceeds from the Fundraiser are being used to help spread awareness about organ donation and to assist in offsetting the medical costs that LifeBanc incurs as a result of helping families cover the medical costs of organ donors, like Andrew.

I feel truly blessed to be able to share about this wonderful organization with all of you and hope that I can help to generate even more support for this great event through my blog! Please share this post with all of your friends, family, and fellow bloggers so that we can continue to help support the LifeBanc Event! So start sharing ya’ll!

Click here for a link to the LifeBanc Registration/Donation Page!

What's Up Wednesday!

Lots going on around here—we got back late Monday night from a weekend trip to visit family in Atlanta. We had an absolute blast! They live in Reynolds Plantation, on Lake Oconee. Each morning we would wake up, go to breakfast, and then spend the day tubing, wakeboarding, wake surfing, and cruising around on the boat. As soon as I upload the darn pictures I will post about the trip. So until then, here is the scoop on the rest of the craziness.
*I did in fact complete my trial 10K (give or take…I was running at the park). I completed it in a time of 52:18 and I was excited to have finished it so well (this is what is leading me to think the park may not be accurate in their mileage of the trails) but nonetheless I was happy! In the mean time, I have been running my usual 3-4 miles and am hoping to do another 10K trial run on Saturday—the race is only a week and a half away!
*I head back to school on Sunday, which has me in a mad rush to pack everything up. I finally feel I have settled in after moving back from school to my house and then to Chris’ house and now I have to repack up all my stuff and head back to school. It is definitely not fun to feel like a nomad. Which I do.
*We cleaned out the fridge before we went to Atlanta and apparently we have decided that eating is an optional activity that we are no longer partaking in. We have absolutely nothing in the fridge. Nadda. Zippo. Zilch. Not even a box of baking soda in there. So I know where I will be headed after work…
*Speaking of the store, I love grocery shopping and I can’t wait to head to Costco this weekend to get lots of things that I need for heading back to school!
*On a lot of the blogs I read, everyone is talking about dieting and what not. Personally, I have never been on a diet, so I am not really at liberty to make too many comments but it has caused me to think a lot about diets. I don’t think I could ever do the diet thing. It’s not because I don’t have the willpower, I have A LOT of willpower, but I don’t think I would be happy on a diet. And since you only live once, I would much rather enjoy a few treats here and there than be miserable and on a diet. I guess it also helps that I like to run—but don’t let that fool you—I like to eat even more! So, for all you dieters, kudos to you, but don’t forget to enjoy every delicious moment of life—you only live once!
*I have not done too much shopping this summer but I have done a lot of working and so before I head back to school, I want to buy myself a little treat. I am thinking about getting a magazine subscription, because I LOVE getting mail and I also love to read magazines. I would love any suggestions on a good magazine to subscribe to!
*I started a fabulous book the other day—it’s called South of Broad by Pat Conroy. It is set in Charleston, NC and it tells the story of “a unique cast of sinners and saints…Leopold Bloom King, our narrator, is the son of an amiable, loving father who teaches science at a local high school. His mother, an ex-nun is the high school principal…” Since I just started, I took a little recap from the back cover to describe a little about the book but seriously, it is really great—I have laughed out loud about a hundred times already!
*Last, sorry to digress—but I am not too excited about heading back to school. It’s not that I don’t like Dayton. I love the school, my classes, my friends, and the independence. I am a very independent person and I like being able to decide when/how I want to do things. Its more the fact that, as my mom always says, “I was born at the age of 30.” I am just kind of over the whole college lifestyle thing. Anyone else ever feel this way when they were in school? I always hear everyone say that college is the best four years of your life…but I am hoping for greener grass on the other side!
*Well, I don’t want to bore all of you too much, hope you are all having a good week and I promise that my next post will have pictures and hopefully a little more pep and excitement!