I Really Am This Crazy

There is a little girl in our town who has Neimann Pick Disease. It's a terrible and rare disease; only six other children in our state have it. When she was first diagnosed, the doctors did not think she would live past her third birthday. Today, she is five years old, and when she is not home recuperating from the most recent surgical procedure or in the hospital due to one complication or another, she is with her new friends in her Kindergarden class. October is Neimann Pick Awareness Month, and the entire school is fired up about raising awareness and money for the Neimann Pick Foundation this month. Someone prompted a "thrown-together" walk-a-thon this past weekend to help raise money. Then a teacher at school, apparently one who is very athletic and physically fit, proclaimed that if his students found 20 people to sponsor him $20 each, he would run from the school to the county court house ~ some 17 miles away. I think it took less than a day to find the 20 sponsors. Now the excitement has grown and other people have committed to doing it with him. Only, they've turned the "run" into a "walk." The little girl's mom was telling a friend and me about it at the football game Friday night. So of course, we told her that we would do it too. So yes, people... I have agreed to walk 17 continuous miles. 17 miles at one time. SEVENTEEN MILES. I think I took leave of my senses. But in actuality, I am rather excited about the whole thing. I didn't actually sign my name to a list, so if for some reason I have to wimp out, no big deal. Nor did I gather all the necessary information. Such as, I think I can do this without having to get sponsors and donations, but then what would be the point? Are there check-points along the way with bottled water and ambulances? Ha ha ha. Rides back to the school in case I wuss out along the way? I don't know the path that we're taking or anything else for that matter. Also, since so many people are doing it, I'm selfishly hoping that we will have t-shirts. Now, I don't want anyone to misunderstand here... I do not know the little girl who has the disease. I know her mother when I see her. I do know her grandmother. She's the sweet little lady that cleaned the house for Roommate and I. So I'm not doing this because I think that this poor little girl won't make it if Stacy doesn't show up to walk 17 miles. Actually, my thought process is a little more selfish. By no means do I think that I am physically fit, but this is the only time in my life that I feel I am capable of conquering such a feat. And, I have lost 90 pounds, which is almost 100 pounds. And when I lost 75 pounds I got a tattoo to commemorate the occasion. I've been pondering what I could do to commemorate the 100 pounds. I won't be able to loose ten more pounds between now and then, but I'm close enough. So what better way to commemorate loosing 100 pounds than by walking 17 miles to raise money for a sick little girl? I'm way pumped about this. Wish me luck... and if you want to donate money to the cause, let me know!