I will walk five hundred miles.

Ok, so maybe not a hundred.

This is a little past due, but its on my mind.
A couple weeks ago was the official March of Dimes walk that I took part in.
Many of you supported me, and donated. Thanks a million.

The walk for me wasn't so much about raising the most money, or finishing first; it was about healing. Last July a friend of mine had a son who was born at 27 weeks. SUPER premature. He was a fighter, and fought for 7 months, until his little heart just couldn't withstand this life any longer. It was truly devastating. Especially to this couple in particular, since they had tried for so long to get pregnant, were told it wasn't possible...and then this little miracle happened.

I think when things like this happen its fairly normal to ask the question why. Why after so much struggle and heartache was this little boy born premature. And then after so long and fighting so hard, why was his life taken from here?

No one has the answers, only God does. He was a precious little boy, and not soon to be forgotten. In the wake of this horrible event, his parents began putting together this walk. The March of Dimes had helped them out tremendously as they do with many families dealing with premature infants, and so they decided to put this together in memory of their little boy. And it was truly special.

I think people deal with grief in different ways. And I cant imagine ever completely "getting over" a loss such as this. However things like memory walks and such are sure good ways of putting your grief to good use. So on April 26, my 24th birthday, about 50 of us gathered in bright orange "team Tommy" t-shirts around this couple mourning their son's death. And walked. We walked despite ourselves to merely be there for a friend in need.

It was a precious moment as I stood at the final marker (after already finishing my walk) and watched as these friends approached the finish line together, hand in hand. Smiling.


Our team was the largest family team the March of Dimes has seen in the Bourbonnais area, and also raised the most money for a family team in the county. In the words of my friend who had lost her son.."thank you for turning something horrible, into something good."


this was truly beautiful