this and that

Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions; it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too. Aldous Huxley

and so i officially dropped the ball on my blog last night....so the story goes, luke's game went into double overtime which made me late for josh's game and my lacrosse meeting - i was planning to blog from the road on the drive down to leonardtown, but lo and behold, i left my phone at home in my hurry to do the drop off/pick up routine....and then i just flat out went out.....it was friday night after all......and unlike some other occasions when i could blog when i got home, that just wasnt the case last night :) but i had a really good time :)

i spent some time trying to get organized yesterday, prior to all of the craziness....and realized that life is an unending series of fundraisers!!  which is interesting......why is it that no matter what kind of economy we seem to be having, there is always a NEED for fundraising......and where exactly does all of the money go?  i ask this because fundraising is such a huge part of the challenge in doing the avon breast cancer walk.  and it bothers me on a very basic level that all of this money is going for BREAST cancer research, when in fact there are so many other cancers out there which are just as scary, and in need of as much support.  its not that i dont support breast cancer research - but i just dont know why its not CANCER research.....and if i am going to raise 1800, id like my money to go to a broader fund.....not that i can do anything about that this year - and ultimately the reason lisa and i decided to do the walk was to honor aunt bobbie, who did in fact have breast cancer (among other things).....so that's where the money is going this year.....but next year, it's going to the "steel lillies" foundation......where we can make donations for research for ALL of the cancers that affect the ones we love - be it bone or soft tissue or bladder or ovarian or prostate or lung - there are just so many!!!  while breast cancer research is an amazing cause, i think there are enough people out there raising money for it without me.....so stay tuned for more info on our soon to be set up foundation!! because if i can make the time to start a travel baseball team or a youth lacrosse league, i can start a foundation, right???

its all about priorities.....and trying to do some good.  at the time both the baseball and lacrosse were worthy projects - they've helped a lot of kids and i'm happy to be a part of that.....but now its time to give back in a different way.....and maybe shed some light on those less talked about cancers.  when we were looking up the colors that are used to represent different cancers, i was amazed that there is actually a website about it......there are just SO MANY that we dont really hear about - like the sarcoma (which is yellow, by the way). 

its also about COPING..... i think that DOING SOMETHING makes you feel less POWERLESS when something like this happens.  it feels proactive and positive - which helps in the getting thru.....at least thats what im hoping. 

and people like to help......my usual fundraisers revolve around sports or school - and we've raised a pretty penny for both of those things over the years.....i've found that people like to contribute (or at least are willing) when its about something they care about.......i think that a big part of the reason that the breast cancer foundations are so successful - so many people have been touched by someone that has battled that disease......so really AWARENESS is the key......and we will see what we can do about raising some of that, too :)

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha