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.

Day Two of the 3-Day - Saturday, November 6, 2010

It got really cold while we slept Friday night.  I was warm and toasty in my sleeping but that all changed when I had to get up and make my way to the porta potty twice!

Doris and I got up on Saturday and got ready quickly.  We went and had breakfast, which wasn't too bad but my eggs got cold pretty fast.  We were out on the route pretty early in the day and I was amazed at the frost on the ground.  I really do think it got colder than the 39 degrees that the weather said it was supposed to get down to.

I didn't take too many pictures during the morning because my battery in my camera was already giving me a low battery indicator.  I was going to save my battery for the closing ceremony on Sunday.  I did let Doris take a picture of me with a pink Santa before we got on the route.  I also looked back and took a picture of the big tent.  We had to go through a tunnel to get out of Brookhaven college and get on the route. 

 Pink Santa and me!

 Looking back at the main tent

Day Two

The tunnel to begin the route for day 2

Doris and I did not get separated on Saturday like we did on Friday.  I got a couple of pictures of Doris before I stopped taking pictures with my camera.  She wanted her picture taken with one of the motorcycle guys.  Every little puppy we saw she would say, "Aw, look at the cute little baby"!  So I had to take a picture of her with one of the dogs we saw along the way. 

Doris and the cute babies!



I was so excited to see Karah at the first cheering station.  She had to work on Friday and didn't get to come out.  She asked me if I had found her letter and I had not.  I asked here where it was and she said she had put it in the front of my journal.  Well I don't ever look in the front of my journal so I told her I would find it when I got back to camp and read it then.  Doris was also with me at this cheering station and when we got back on the route she was very concerned for me and asked if I was ok.  I really amazed myself on how I held in my emotions during most of the weekend.  I guess I was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other!

Karah and Me, was she half asleep??



We somehow missed Deon and Karah at the second cheering station so I called them.  They couldn't find any parking and were on the other side of the street.  Deon said he was looking for us but he missed us.  We weren't that far from the corner where we turned to get to the next pit stop so we went back to the corner and met them there.  I'm really glad we did. 

 Deon drove ahead so he could get this shot of us!

As we were walking away....making sure I'm ok!

We made it through lunch but I knew I would not be able to go as far I had the day before.  I was shooting for 10 miles but ended up going 12.  After lunch Doris and I decided that when we got to the last cheering station and saw everyone we would hop a sweeper van to take us to the next pit stop and then catch the SAG bus back to camp.  The best laid plans, right??

We found Deon, Karah, Viv, Jo and Sophia at the start of the cheering station on Preston road.  It was there that I told Deon that my camera's batter was almost dead.  He let me take his Canon with extra batteries for it.  I was so glad!  Now Doris and I could put our plan into action right? Wrong!  The cheering station went on forever and then once we got past the cheering station we didn't see any sweeper vans at all!  We finally hailed down a van and it took us less that a quarter mile to the next pit stop!  Oh well...we did get on the SAG bus at that time.

 Last Cheering Station of Day 2!

SAG bus Day 2!



Getting back to camp early was wonderful.  We enjoyed a nice hot shower and then headed to supper.  We had steak and potatoes for supper and it was very, very yummy.  When supper was done we just walked around and I took lots of pictures of camp.  I did go to medical and get the blister on the side of my big toe on my right foot drained and bandaged.  We were going to get a massage but the line was too long.  We went and picked up our mail and sure enough the only letter I got was the one I sent to myself.  I was so grateful for the cards that Viv and Candice gave me on Thursday.  Those and the notes from Deon and the letter from Karah really carried me through the weekend.  When I read the letter from Karah I just bawled like a baby.  It was very special.  And speaking of special, Doris and I went to the Remembrance tent and there was able to write a message on the DFW tent to my mom.  I also wrote in the journal book there too and I have no idea how many people will see that.  It was a really emotional and touching time.

The semi trailers where we took our showers!

 Supper, yummy!

 A sea of pink tents!

 The Remembrance Tent

Inside the Remembrance Tent



I decided to turn in early again but when I realized that the time was going to change and I was essentially going to bed at 7:30pm I headed over the the big tent.  They were having the dance party and it was fun to sit with the girls and watch people just be silly on stage.

As I went to sleep that night I was very proud of what I had already accomplished even if Doris felt very guilty for taking the SAG bus both days.  Right before I drifted off to sleep I had already determined in my heart that we were going to walk every single step to the finish of this walk the next day.

Day One of the 3-Day - Friday, November 5, 2010

I'll pick up where I left off last time.  We left the hotel and arrived at Collin Creek Mall for the Opening Ceremony at around 5:45am, it was really cold but we did not know the cold that was coming!

The first thing we did was load our bags on the "F" truck...no I'm not cussing!  Our tent address was F-21 so we had to load our gear on the truck labeled for rows F and G.  I'm really glad I didn't have to lug my bag very far.  There was a crew member right there and took my bag to load on the truck before I had gotten close enough to the truck to even think about hoisting it up there!!

Loading our gear in the right truck!

We had lots of time to kill so we started walking around and looking at everything.  We was the 3-day store but I didn't buy anything, I didn't want to have to carry it with me all day.  We also wrote our goals for the weekend and put them up for all to see.  I had forgotten to look for the white ribbons to write mom's name on so her name was left out of the opening ceremony but I knew she was supposed to be there and that's all that matters.

My Goal for the weekend!

The Front Yard Flamingos Team!

Me and Doris waiting around for the Opening Ceremony to begin...

The Opening Ceremony was emotional to say the least.  We honored the ones who lost there battle with cancer first with the white ribbon being raised on a flag pole.  It was an very sobering sight.  Next our flags for the weekend were carried out and then the survivors came out carrying flags as well.  They put their flags in a circle and then held hands in a circle.  My words can never do this justice, just know that it was an awe inspiring start to our weekend.

And the Ceremony has begun!

Honoring the ones who have lost their lives to breast cancer!

The circle of Survivors

Then we were off, scanned and hitting the route with great enthusiasm.  It was amazing to look ahead of me and see the hundreds of people walking ahead of me and then turn and look back at the hundreds more I could see coming up behind me.  It was a sea of pink craziness and was contagious!

On the route...

Doris and I fell behind Kitty, Susan and Andrea right away but we knew that was going to happen and it was ok.  We actually met up with another girl named Amanda and walked with her for most of the day.  She is a school teacher in Ft. Worth and it was really cool to hear her story and get to know her along the way.

Amanda, Me and Doris at Pit 1

My feet started bothering me around lunch time and I knew it was going to be a long weekend!  I got separated from Doris and Amanda after lunch sometime and I was walking by myself for quit a while.  The first cheering station was coming up and I didn't know if anyone would be there for me.  The first thing I heard before I ever saw anyone was "here comes Grammie Tammie" and then I saw Vivian, Candice, Bradley, Gracie, Sophia and Deon.  (Wow, I just broke down in tears writing this) The cheering stations were really what kept me going at times.  Deon took lots of pictures and then I was back on the route!

Lunch!

Gracie waiting for Grammie Tammie

Bradley waiting for Grammie Tammie

I made it to the cheering station!

Me and Viv

Back on the route again!

Deon and everyone had been at the very beginning of the cheering station and before I got to the end of the cheering station I heard my name being called.  I turned around and there was Doris.  I was so shocked that she was behind me.  She had stopped at pit 4 so medical could take care of her little toe, she was trying to get a blister on it.  By this time my feet were just about gone so when we got to pit 5 Doris and I both decided to take the SAG bus back to camp.  We still had 3 miles left to go and we both knew we just couldn't make it.

The SAG bus taking us back to camp.

While we were sitting on the SAG bus waiting for it to fill up I texted Vivian to thank her for being at the cheering station and discovered that they were at the next cheering station too!  I felt so bad that I had gotten on the bus and would miss them.  She told me not to worry about it because they were having a great time cheering everyone on and Deon was pulling self imposed safety duty!  That's my guy!  Doris and I waved at them as we drove by.

Back in camp we had help setting up our tent.  Well actually I left Doris with the tent and went to the porta potty and when I got back our tent was up.  Some of the college guys were out helping with the tents.  Then we went to eat like good little walkers and then went to take our showers.  I have to say that taking a shower in the back of a semi trailer was an experience but it was the most wonderful shower I had ever taken!  We walked around for a bit and then we went back to our tent.  Doris headed up to the main tent for the evenings festivities while I stayed in the tent to read my cards and write in my journal.  I think I actually crawled into my sleeping bag at 8:30pm and went to sleep!  I was so tired I didn't even take any pictures of camp!  So you will just have to wait until next time...

Day One ended with me going to bed very early, getting up 2 times in the very, very cold night to go to the bathroom!  I am pretty sure it got colder than the forcasted 39 degrees!

The Beginning of the Final Steps of My 3-Day Journey!

The 3-Day has come and gone and what an experience it was.  I'm not sure I can put into words how the whole weekend made me feel.  It was scary, emotional, exciting, painful and wonderful all rolled into one.  The notes and cards I got from Deon, Karah, Vivian and Candice is what kept me going when I wanted to quit.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful people around me that love me and support me.  My whole church family and some of my family were praying for me to and I know that is what carried me to the end.  I did not do this in my strength...it was only by the grace of God that I finished this journey.

I raised over $2,300, I trained, I walked 44 out of the 60 and I was touched by so many different stories and experiences that I don't think I could contain them in this blog!

Today I'll just write about Thursday night at the hotel.  I got off of work early to go home and check my packing list for the last time to make sure I had everything I was going to need. 

Gotta double check the bag!

The pack I carried on my back the whole way!

Deon loaded up my bag and we hopped into the truck for the long drive to Plano!  We got to the Best Western Park Suites a little early.  I had already tried to call Doris once but there was no answer.  As we sat in the parking lot I tried her cell phone again and got her this time.  They were just coming to 635 so I knew they were a little ways away.  So, I had Deon take me to a gas station so I could buy a pack of gum.  I brought $40 with me for the weekend and the gum is all I ended up buying!

 Doris talking while getting her food!

Doris and Me

Once Doris and her Dad got to the hotel we went inside to check in.  Deon asked Doris if we could mail her a check for my part of the room and she said no!  She would not let us pay anything for the room, what a sweetheart!  We got to the hotel early enough to eat.  They had spaghetti and salad or nachos for us, along with drinks.  I ate some nachos at first and then decided that that was not going to be enough so I had a little bit of Spaghetti too.  It was OK but the nachos were really good.  Deon took some pictures of us at the hotel and after a little while Deon, Karah and Doris's dad left. 

Our room

We headed up to our room to get settled in, we were in room 311.  It was a pretty nice room and the beds were comfy.  We called to see if Kitty was at the hotel yet and she was so we went back downstairs and met up with Andrea, Susan and Kitty and visited for a little while.  I gave them all the cutest pink flamingo head band bobbly things.  Of course Kitty had her pink flamingo hat so she put the headband on the hat!!

 The pink flamingo head band bobbly things!

Kitty, The Front Yard Flamingos Team Captian

We headed back up to the room, got ready for bed, set the alarm and went to sleep, 4:30am was going to come early.

We got up at 4:30am and got ready for Day 1 of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  Breakfast was served downstairs at 5am and we were there on the dot.  We ate and as soon as the bus arrived to take us to Collin Creek Mall for the opening ceremonies we headed out into the cold Friday morning to begin the last leg of this year long journey.

 Me and Doris on the bus! I think I might be a little bit over excited....what do you think??

 Susan and Andrea on the bus!

Kitty on the bus (well the back of her head)!

The 3-Day is finally here!

It is Wednesday afternoon and I am sitting here at work thinking about the fact that I will sleep at home tonight and then it is off to my finally part of this journey that I started at the beginning of the year.  Wow, I have had my ups and my downs but one thing I know, God is in control and it is going to be what He wants it to be. 

I'm so thankful that I have Doris as my tent mate for this weekend.  God has put a desire in both our hearts to use this 60 mile walk as a mission for Him.  We both want to touch lives so people can get a glimpse of the Savior through us as we complete a chapter in our lives.

Deon is taking me to Plano and dropping me off at the hotel.  Our team decided that was better than getting up at 3am so we could be in Plano by 6:30am on Friday!!!  I will post more later...