4 hours

600 people

1.5 million dollars

all for Cystic Fibrosis research.

What a great adieu to the last CF event of the year…leave on a high note and a fist full of cash for the cure.  I’ll leave the event with hope for the future, a couple of roses, and a York Peppermint Pattie.

Ahhh, that Peppermint Pattie.

My very dear friend, Donna, makes sure there are plenty of Peppermint Patties at the Gala in memory of my little girl, Jena.  “Of course they’re there!” Donna always says, “I would never forget her!”

Over a million reasons to be elated
Over a dozen CF events behind me
and only three very painful dates to now endureI take a deep breath in and sigh as I think of what’s ahead of me.  I take a Peppermint Pattie off the table, and grab Marc’s hand as we walk out Cipriani’s doors down 42^nd Street, toward our hotel.

Marc and I recap the success of evening as we stroll hand in hand in the brisk night air.  I just love the vibe of New York City…all the energy, the unexpected, the excitement that defines NYC.  We are here so often that we don’t even bother to read the street signs anymore; we just walk…engrossed in our chat about CF, what we plan to do about the unpleasant upcoming events, and ponder if we should stop at the great wine bar we like on 44th before we call it a night.

Together we seemed to have figured out how to get through in life what most people can’t understand.  Perhaps it’s as easy as just taking that one step at a time, hand in hand, where the streets have no names.  Okay maybe that last part is borrowed from Bono…

My point?

Life is hard.

Hearts get broken.

Some things are truly out of our control.

All the more reason to control how you handle it.3 dates left to handle:
Thanksgiving
December 4^th
ChristmasThey have been absolute hell for us since Jena “moved up” in 2006.

One was her last holiday with us
One date I will despise forever
One celebration that’s lost it’s magicWe keep trying to find new ways to breathe through them. Each year we try to make them bearable. We keep trying.Last year we believe we found the answer.  Marc & I decided to change things up a bit.  We cancelled Thanksgiving, renamed it “Just Thursday” and escaped on a 10-day adventure to nowhere and didn’t return home until December 5th…oh, and we took ALL our Facebook friends along for the ride.  We asked, “North on 95? or West on 80?”  We let our Facebook friends decide “Chattanooga or Memphis?” “Hurricane or Margarita?”

Our impromptu trip turned in to a communal escape from reality…with nothing but a suitcase, a smartphone and a sense of adventure.