Hi Everyone,

I am almost finished my fundraising for the Avon Walk – once I reach the required $1800 and my Aunt and teammate reaches hers, I will remove the link from the front of my page – and I’ll stop asking – here is our team site: http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR?team_id=141489&fr_id=2404&pg=team

I’m doing the Avon Walk as a form of personal healing. It comes at a time when I should be healed from most of the difficulties from surgery and chemotherapy. I signed up for it at a time before I had neuropathy, so I did not realize just how difficult it would be to train for the walk. I think if I were to decide now, I probably would not do it – but I’m committed. In many ways, this is a good thing, as training for the walk is pushing me to get outside and stay active – to walk more – which in turn will increase my healing.

Now that I am – in theory – done with surgeries, recovery is all about me being active – getting out there and walking, hiking, biking, and going to the gym – it is about gaining strength. Pardon the war language, but frankly, I have fought a lot of battles to get to where I am now.

In Unitarian Universalism, we have bridging ceremonies when our kids grow from being children to youth, and from youth to young adults, and even sometimes when young adults wish to bridge out of young adulthood. These can be rather significant. I recall at the CUC ACM (annual conference) in Ottawa in 2008, I stepped on the stage to self-identify not as a young adult but as an adult – making that symbolic bridge out of young adulthood.

The Avon Walk provides a bridge for me. It gives me a reason to train, but also provides the symbolism of crossing through the gates of recovery. I see myself walking through the gates, holding the coloured pompoms that identify me as a survivor. It gives me something to look forward to (walking the streets of San Francisco with my Aunt). In addition to walking, I’ll also be learning more about the city itself. That too will be interesting.

I have heard from others who have done the walks (the Avon Walk, and in Canada the Walk to End Womens Cancers) that they are very inspirational. With your help, I am looking forward to that experience.

If you have not yet donated, and can afford to help out, I ask that you please do so now. Any amount helps – http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk/SanFrancisco?team_id=141489&pg=team&fr_id=2404