My mom's long walk

For those of you who don't know (or aren't related to) my Mom, you may not know how much of an awesome woman she is. So let me tell you a little about her. Among other things, she owns a small business (started by my Pépère), is the oldest of 7 children, raised two great daughters (if I do say so myself), is a fantastically accomplished sewer/knitter/quilter, used to ride a Harley, travels the world, and is a generally overall great woman. As I grow older, I grow more appreciative of my Mother and the way she raised me, to be a smart, practical, caring person. There are many times in my adult life that I find myself starting stories with "My Mom used to say..." My mind collected all of her good advice and I'm glad I remembered it, because she was right about a lot of stuff. And, being in the same industry (fire protection/construction) I can even call her for work advice. That has come in handy more than a few times on the job!

My Mom has always been my biggest supporter. She encouraged Megan and I to be whatever we wanted to be when we grew up, coached us through the inevitable changing of our minds, provided us with a great work ethic that came from our summers of working at her office, and an overall example of how to be a good person. She came out to help me recover from both of my surgeries, and has always listened happily to me babble on the phone about this or that, including all of my running and training. And even though she is allergic to cats, she even made Penny her very own quilt, tolerates her "singing", and the blanket of cat hair that covers my condo when she comes to visit.  

Another awesome thing about my Mom is she recently finished the Susan G. Komen 3-day, which consists of walking 60 miles in 3 days. Wow! She walked in Boston on the team "Miles for Megan" in memory of my sister. She raised $19,975 and was one of the top fundraisers in the whole event. She held the "Daughter" banner at the Opening Ceremony. Also, to help raise money, she raffled off a quilt that was a copy of one that she and Megan designed together. 

If you want to feel like you were there, Billy (my stepdad) took about a thousand pictures of the event that you can see here. I think Mom may have inspired a few of us to train for next year. 

My Aunt Louise and my Mom!

Here is the thank you letter my Mom sent out to all of the donors:

Dear Supporter:
A big Thank You to you for being part of the more than 175 donors who contributed a total of $19,975 towards my walking team, MILES FOR MEGAN! The three of us, our awesome Captain, Laura Martin Brady, wonderful Deanna Misilo and myself are pictured above at the finish line of our 60-mile walk that took place over three days, July 27th, 28th and 29th.
We estimate that among the three of us, we took approximately 360,000 steps to reach our 60-mile goal!
The Boston Group of the Komen Foundation raised $3.2 million dollars.  What an accomplishment!
The weekend was filled with tears, smiles and laughs.
And the “angels”; we met hundreds of people all along our walking path who cheered us on, provided us with refreshments, water and encouragement.
The crew was phenomenal.  There was a happy face wherever we were whether it was serving us meals, repairing our blisters, helping to set up our tents, riding bikes all along the route….. You name it, they did it.
If you want to hear more about our week-end, visit either one of our Face Book pages where we’ve been posting comments and pictures.
And, the winner of the quilt that my mom, Pierrette Lemieux and I made in honor of my daughter Megan, was Joan Shurtleff, of Lakeville, MA.
Again, I can’t thank you all enough.  Hoping that through all of our collective efforts, the words “Breast Cancer” will be rubbed out of the dictionary.
--Pauline L Lally

I couldn't ask for a better role model and inspiration to complete my own challenge in front of me. Our journeys are different but very similar. Her walk and my marathon are events that are somewhat out of character for both of us. But talking with her through her training and seeing her finish (well, remotely, I wish I could have been there!), it gives me so much inspiration. And I'll be very excited to see her when I cross the finish line on October 7. Thanks Mom!!