Day Three of the 3-Day - Sunday, November 7, 2010

It was another cold (but not as cold) early morning on Sunday.  Add together the time change, packing up and tearing down the tent and it made for a very busy Sunday morning before ever hitting the route.  Doris and I got up especially early and got our gear stowed away on our "F" truck one last time and deposited our pint tent on the growing pile of pink tents and then headed to breakfast.  We didn't see Kitty, Susan or Andrea at all before we got on the bus to take us to the beginning of our route for this final day of the 3-day.

Get on the bus!

We arrived at Pit #1 before we ever set out on the route.  I went and doctored my feet as best I could at the do-it-yourself table while Doris went to medical to get stretched out because of her hips.  While I was waiting for her to get finished I saw the rest of the gang.  I got a picture of them before they headed out ahead of us.

Andrea, Susan and Kitty right before the got on the route...

Doris and I agreed that we would not take any sweeper vans or the SAG bus, we wanted to walk ever single step of Day 3!  I ended up going to medical at one of the pits and they took care of me feet.  It was amazing how good my feet felt after that.

At the beginning of the route...

The longer the day got the harder it got for me to stop and then start again.  Earlier in the weekend my feet would recover a bit and feel better if I just stood still or sat down and got off of them for a while.  On Sunday, that was not the case.  I would have to walk out the pain and tell myself to walk normal or I would hurt something.  I could really feel the prayers of everyone that was praying for me that day.  It really was as if I was being carried on angel's wings for part of the day.  I'll let the pictures I took tell most of the story on this day.

 At a grab and go

 This girl in the wheelchair was such an inspiration to us all!

 Medical at Pit #2

 Pit #3

 Lunch!

 Resting my feet!

As Doris and I got to the last Pit stop and I realized that we only had 2.2 miles left to go I was overwhelmed with emotion!  I was going to accomplish my goal for the day and I was amazed.  We were standing in line at the porta potties when I heard the announcement that if we were not out of this pit stop in 15 minutes we would have to take the bus to holding.  I looked at Doris and told her to get her butt in gear, we were not going to be on that bus.  We both had wanted to sit a rest a bit but we did not get the chance.  We got right back on the route and for some reason I didn't take any pictures from the last Pit to Fair park at all!

It was an incredible feeling to be cheered on as we entered Fair park and the end of the walk.  I would almost come to tears and then I would have a big cheesy grin on my face.  We walked right into the building and headed to the back to get our t-shirts all the while being cheered on by the walkers who had already gotten there.

We saw Andrea once while we were in holding and then she was swallowed up by the crowd of walkers.  After Doris and I went to the bathroom we found a place on the floor to finally sit down.  She actually went to get us our last snack of the 3-day and I sat down at started taking off my shoes so I could put my crocs on.  When I took off my left shoe I realized that the blister I thought was on the end of my toe just next to my big toes was actually a blister under my toe nail!  I'm still not sure if I'm going to lose that toe nail or not.

Pretty soon it was time to gather outside to get ready for the closing ceremony.  It was announced that we would go in 2 separate files, it would be 5 wide on the left and 5 wide on the right.  I had texted Deon and he told me that they were on the right side so I knew I had to be on the right side.  Doris and I joined a couple other girls and needed a 5th but we started walking before that could happen.  Then all of a sudden Doris pulled me out of that line because Kitty, Susan and Andrea had found us!  We got to walk into the closing ceremony as a team, it was awesome.  I tried to see Deon and everyone when we were walking in but I didn't see them at all.  I knew where they were supposed to be but we went by so fast I missed them.  As it turns out Deon got a picture of my feet as we were walking in but didn't know it was us!!  I'll also share some pictures Deon took of everyone while they were waiting for the closing ceremony to begin!

 Trying to get the message right!

 "Go Tammie" "Yay" fingerspelled

The closing ceremony was very similar to the opening ceremony and it was just as emotional and moving.  Only one time during the day did I let myself remember that this last day of this 3-Day was the 13th anniversary of my Mom's death.  I allowed myself a few tears but really I was more proud of myself for accomplishing this year long goal so I didn't shed as many tears as one would think that I would!

 Saluting with our shoes!

 No words needed here!

When the ceremony was over Doris and I hugged each other and then we were both off to find our families.  It was a very sad thing to know that Doris didn't have any visible family support during the actual 3-day and I was very glad to share my family and friends with her.  She was looking for her Dad and I headed off to where I thought everyone was waiting for me.  The first person I saw was William and I made a bee line straight to him.  When I got to the group it was so wonderful to see William and Amy, Vivian, Jordan and Sophia, Kristy and Kacie, Candice, Wendy, Stacy and Deon and Karah! It was such a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by my family and my friends and to know that they loved me and supported me through this whole journey.  It was an amazing journey, one I'm very thankful that God allowed me to make!

There were lots of hugs and lots of pictures taken and I was doing great until Deon hugged me and started to cry!  Of course that made me cry too so we held on to each other for a long time and cried together with joy for the accomplishment of this journey!

Then, we had to go get my gear.  I bet we walked at least a 1/4 mile to where all the gear was.  At least Deon went and got my bag for me and he carried it back to the truck.  We said our goodbyes to William and Amy and the rest of us headed back to Ferris.  I decided that I at least wanted to stop by church and say hi to everyone and thank them for their prayers.Vivian and the gang stopped at Dairy Queen for ice cream and then went to the church. 

After we stopped at the church we decided to go to Chili's to eat.  Wendy was with us so she called Bryan and he met us at Chili's for supper.  It was a really wonderful to eat supper with Wendy and Bryan, we had not done that in so long. 

With supper finished we all headed home and all I could think about was a nice hot shower.  When we got home and I sat down for a bit I really started to feel kind of funny, like I was going to pass out.  So, I told Deon I was going to just go to bed and he helped me get into bed and told me he was going to sleep in the other room so I would have the bed all to myself for a great night's sleep.  He kissed me goodnight and pulled the covers up and closed a chapter in my life that I'm very happy and proud to have had.