Everything happens for a reason . . .

As most of you know, I did my first walk back in 2002 (after the walk in 2001 fell through). I signed up to walk alone, but from the moment I arrived to the Opening Ceremony in Fitchburg, I was anything but! As soon as I stepped out of the car and waved good-bye to my bewildered sister, I felt it. I couldn't even tell you exactly what "it" was that I was feeling, but I definitely, DEFINITELY felt it. It was bubbling up inside of me, and building with each moment that passed, each new smiling face, each animated pink-clad fellow walker brimming with excitement. And from that moment, from that very first moment, I knew that I was going to be doing this for a long, long time to come!

Despite the fact that Day 2 was cancelled at lunch due to an unexpected snow squall (in Boston. In MAY. Only on the 3 Day . . .), the experience was so incredibly, overwhelmingly positive for me, that I came home singing its praises to everyone I knew. I talked about the route: "Soooo beautiful! With these little round arrow signs everywhere you look to make SURE that nobody would get lost!"; I talked about Tent City--which back then was BLUE: "There are these great showers, in TRUCKS, you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it!"; I talked about the food: "Imagine, delicious HOT meals, in the middle of some school's football field"; I talked about the down time: "Karaoke! Can you imagine?? We've just walked 20+ miles, and people were up there singing their little hearts out!"

But most of all, I talked about what the 3-Day had done to me. It had changed me . . . for the better. Suddenly, I felt part of something bigger than myself, something important, something really, really meaningful. And--in those post-September 11th months, living so close to New York City--that was so healing for me.

I told people that I someday wanted to work for the 3-Day. The work they were doing was so valuable, so meaningful, and yet so approachable. The coaches I'd spoken with during my training and fundraising had been so kind, helpful, and truly dedicated, and everyone on-event had been just tremendous. I remember thinking that I wanted to be a part of that ALL the time--not just for 3 days each year.

And, what do you know? The current national spokesperson for the 3 Day for the Cure, Jenne Fromm, has decided to resign from her position after an incredible 4-year run. During those 4 years, I've seen her at three different events, and each time I've been "wow-ed" by her ability to speak to thousands of people at once, yet make each of us feel as if she's speaking to us individually. Her presence, her energy, her ability to rally us, and thousands of other things I can't even put into words, simply humbled me. I can't even count the number of times I've thought, "I want that job!"

And, with her resignation and one simple e-mail from the 3-Day Coaches . . . perhaps it's not such an impossible dream after all!

So, last Thursday I spent the day at Delbarton, in an empty auditorium with a camera aimed at me, and repeated the 6-paged speech I'd memorized (nearly!) over, and over, and over again! By the end, I had about 7 takes each of the Opening and Closing ceremony speech excerpts. By that point, I was pretty much sick of myself, so I turned it over to my Trusty Hub who faithfully watched take after take, comparing and considering. Once he had chosen what HE thought were the best Opening and Ceremony takes, he had me watch them once more and give my approval. Then the whole thing was posted to YouTube, copied and pasted into the 3-Day National Spokesperson application, and sent off for consideration!

It is now officially out of my hands. I can only hope that my energy, passion, and utter dedication to this cause AND this event come through in my video. Any positive thoughts you could spare and send along would be very much appreciated! Everything happens for a reason . . . maybe this is why I've always felt such a connection to the 3-Day--maybe I really AM the next National Spokesperson!