One Step at a Time is Good Walking

Dear Blue Footed Boobies Supporters,

We did it! Woo-hoo!! I am proud to report that every member of the Blue Footed Boobies 3-Day Team--Ursula, Jeanne, Angie, Damon and yours truly--walked each and every mile of the 60 mile route, gritting out torrential downpours and blustery winds on the first morning, a hot, unflinching sun on the second, and a building humidity that rose in waves from the city streets on the third. Most importantly, with your help, we raised over $25K, putting us in the top five among the 3-Day power teams (while my $9000+ earned me the number six spot among all top fundraisers) and the Boston 3-Day raised more than $4 million, most of which will stay in New England. Throughout it all, the Boobies bonded, made new friends, soaked up the empowering vibes throughout the weekend, proved that we are strong, fit and healthy (!), learned some new tricks, and loved every minute of it.

Of course, we couldn’t have done it without you, and we are so very grateful for your support! Whether helping us clear our $25K fundraising goal, sending letters of encouragement to the camp post office, setting us up with reflective training vests, outfitting us in I love Boobies! Team gear, posting yahoos! on Facebook, or calling to check in, you pulled us through, and we thank you! I can’t tell you how moved I was when I received a batch of letters on Friday night, all from dear old friends, offering up love and support that I welcomed with open arms and let wash over me as I sat reading them (and weeping) in my tent. It would not be the only time I bawled during the 3-Day! In fact, dinner each night was a lovely, hilarious, high-energy emceed laugh/bawl fest, complete with cued music, very funny jokes, performances by local dance troupes, the much-anticipated weather forecast, and the chance to herald the accomplishments of several teams and individual walkers.

On all levels, the 3-Day is an amazing event. I feel much honored to be a part of it. And the 3-Day organization is incredibly well-run, with a team of spirited, professional full-timers overseeing a huge number of volunteer crew, who did everything from cooking our meals, making sure we were staying hydrated along the route, and entertaining us at pit-stops to tending to our medical issues and keeping us safe as we traversed all those city streets. Carefully orchestrated for maximum effect, the 3-Day extracts the very best from its people—staff, crew, walkers: determination, cooperation, courage, compassion, and strength. Unique to the Boston 3-Day is its team of Youth Corps, kids ages 10-16 who work tirelessly as crew during the event, cheering us on, handing out homemade chocolate chip cookies near the end of each day’s course, and making us bawl at dinner with their stories of heartache and loss--this, the very critical why we walk piece that has grown by leaps and bounds since completing my first 3-Day.

As well, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of all that good Juju we received from all of you, as well as each other, fellow walkers, the amazing crew members, and all the people who came out to say Hey, thanks for walking. I posted updates and photos on Facebook throughout the Walk, and the messages I received in return were pure tonic! I truly felt as if you were walking with me, that I carried the strength of an entire tribe of good people, that I could do anything.

Against a backdrop of classic New England weather, where everything and anything is possible, we journeyed through a beautiful sixty miles over an incredible three days: grueling, exhausting, exhilarating, empowering. And while our soggy start on Friday was not exactly welcome, it was very much expected. Rain, however, can make for an auspicious start, and when the sun came out Friday afternoon as we strolled onto the campus of Gann Academy in Waltham, our camp site for the next two nights, it was a hallelujah moment.

The weather, of course, would prove to be the least of our worries. As Angie, whose Achilles began to swell and bruise on Saturday, making each step a tender one, said on several occasions, “I can do anything for three days.“ True heroism abounded: Ursula walked with a crutch in hand the first day, doctor’s orders after learning that she had not one but two hairline fractures in her foot a few days before the Walk. Jeanne’s feet suffered badly from the chronic soaking of Day 1, and were covered (covered!) in painful blisters that she kept cheerfully under wraps. And Damon came down with a horrible case of road rash all over her legs that burned bright and red. My plantar fascitis kicked in a bit every now and then, but I couldn’t complain. It all felt good, an expanding lightening of being, an all-over buzzing sensation, a feeling of being very much alive. And after all, we were surrounded by people in much worse shape than we were, and by Saturday night, camp looked a bit like a war zone, with long lines at the medical tent, a beefed-up Shower Police, who made sure we had eaten and hydrated enough before heading into the showers (where more than five people had passed out that afternoon), and many people hobbling about, icing ankles, knees, and feet, waiting in line to see the 3-Day docs, and trying to escape the wrath of the Red Card, which would prohibit them from walking on the third day. By this time, Ursula had left her crutch behind, and it seemed that she, like all the Boobies, was only getting stronger, more determined, and focused on the finish.

A few days now after the Walk and everyone has recovered beautifully. I came home to a sick child (my youngest, Dominick), and the worry and sleepless nights have caught up to me, and I am feeling a bit exhausted. And I am missing my fellow Boobies, of whom I am enormously proud for the amazing job they all did, and especially, my mother, Damon, who at the age of 69, conquered the 3-Day with strength and grace, a walking advertisement for Dr. Thornhill, her hip-replacement surgeon, and for aging (particularly) well.

It’s been great to reflect back on the Walk and what it’s meant, what I’ve taken away, what I’m already missing. I truly loved spending so much time outside, watching the sun come up in the morning, and go down at night; being surrounded by such positive energy; spending so much time with women and supportive men, and having the time to talk, really talk, and walk, just walk, a la Forrest Gump, forever and ever. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished, and grateful for what I’ve taken away. I have appreciated being part of something bigger than myself, the chance to get to know my teammates a whole lot better, and all the time—walking, talking, tenting, laughing, crying—I got to spend with my mother. Above all else, I think, the Walk has given me the chance to prove to myself that I am strong, healthy, fit, loved, and maybe, just maybe, that there’s still a little verve of invincibility left in me. Can do anything! Cancer-free! Young! Fly! I joked with my friend Clinton that they’d be playing old Helen Reddy music at camp, a little I am Woman Hear me Roar to get us going in the mornings. No Helen Reddy, but Donna Summer, Jem, Pointer Sisters, all the best in motivational kickass tunes that seemed to follow us around from breakfast to pit stops along the route and all the way back to camp. Never underestimate a good soundtrack! It’d be lovely to feel that way all the time, to hang on to the power of the walk, infuse our days with all that good stuff.

I started this as a highlights reel, but there was so much to write about, that, well, I’ve done my usual and written a small novel. This, believe it or not, is the short version. Find the detailed tome, complete with day to day highlights, camp misadventures, photos, and other tales, on my blog, http://flipsideofforty.blogspot.com.

I hope you’ll stay in touch. And I thank you again for being such a huge source of support. I am proud of all of you, too! After all, WE did it. Together. And next year I hope we can do it again. The Blue Footed Boobies are recruiting! The colony is expanding! Requirements: a willingness to train hard, raise at least $2300, sleep in a pink tent, wear pink, and pee in porta potties. I promise that if you do join us, I will bestow any and all wisdom gained from my inaugural 3-Day experience. For instance, here’s one: Always (always!) take your fanny pack off before you use the porta pottie! (alas, I am mourning my poor water bottle, lost forever!)

">I haven't got any special religion this morning. My God is the God of Walkers. If you walk hard enough, you probably don't need any other god. ~ Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia

Enjoy the rest of the summer. May your feet take you out the door on many lovely walks, and remember the old Chinese proverb: One step at a time is good walking.