Running in remembrance

Happy Monday! This is my last week of work with my current employer. Only 5 days left. Not that I'm counting the days... or hours... or minutes. What can I say, I am ready for my new adventure. Oh, and my future employer sponsored a children's book fair at a park close to my house on Saturday. Cool, huh? I hope to volunteer at the event next fall!

On Saturday morning I did a 5k which has become an annual event for me. It's the Twin Cities "Breath of Hope" run. I started doing it last year. Holy batman, can I just say how much more in shape I am this year compared to last year??? What a difference a year makes! At the finish line last year, I was breathing so hard, people probably thought I had some sort of lung disease!! Here's a picture of my shirt from this year. And no, I did not drool during the race - I must have spilled some water on my shirt when I got done running the race. It's in too random of a place to be a sweat mark!

This is a pretty low key race. It's not even technically a 5k - I used my Garmin this year and it was actually only 2.8 miles. I wasn't approaching it as a 'race' - I was approaching it as a way to honor the memory of my Grandma. She died after a valiant fight with Lung Cancer when I was in 5th grade. I was so young when she died, but still have alot of wonderful memories of her. She was really one of those 'larger than life' types. She was so full of life and had such a wonderful, unique laugh. I can still hear it in my mind.

Some of my memories of my Grandma are:

• She was a super talented cook. Holidays at her house were fabulous. She rarely sat down to eat, though. She was always making sure everyone else had everything they needed. I can remember my mom, aunts, and uncles all telling her to sit down and eat, but she never really seemed to stop moving!


• She loved to fish. And boy was she intense about fishing. Oddly enough, I don't remember her catching many fish! My Grandpa wasn't as into fishing, but went along anyways. He basically wanted to sit there and enjoy himself, but he was always the one getting bites. When that happened, he'd shake his road to get rid of the fish - sometimes my Grandma would catch him doing that & boy did she not like that!!


• She was an amazing cake decorator. She made amazing cakes for us Grandkids. My favorite cake is either the Rainbow Brite one she made for my 5th Birthday or this Jack-in-the-box cake that she made when I was maybe 3 or 4? I need to find pics to scan in to show you guys. She was amazing! She also decorated wedding cakes. I remember going to their house and there would be sugar flowers that she had just made laying out on the table. I was so impressed with her abilities!


• She loved to play cards.

It's been a little over 17 years since she passed (I believe, hopefully I got the year right), but the McDougall side keeps her memory alive. My aunt started putting her recipes online so all of us kids and grandkids can re-create the tasty meals and treats she prepared. My mom seems to have alot of Grandma Valeria traits, too, so I feel like I know my Grandma by knowing my mom.

I hope to continue to do this 5k every September to honor her memory. I would like to get a bit more organized next year and see if some of my McDougall relatives in the area will do the walk with me next year. I meant to do that this year, but this race snuck up on me.

I'm going to leave you with some interesting facts about Lung Cancer that I found on the Breath of Hope foundation website:

• Over 60% of new cases are never smokers or former smokers, many of whom quit decades ago.


• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 12 women diagnosed with Lung Cancer have never smoked!


• Approximately 175,000 people are diagnosed with Lung Cancer in the US each year.


• Approximately 160,000 people die from Lung Cancer annually - more than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined!!

Are your grandparents still alive? If so, are you close to them? If they have passed, do you have vivid memories of their lives?