June 1, 2011
Consumed Comments Off
I am consumed…consumed by planning every single big and little detail of a fundraising event that is bigger than anything I could have ever imagined. I am not sure what I was thinking waaaay back in 2009 when I thought it would be an awesome idea to have an event that would raise money for the organization that I run that included a motorcycle ride, a cook-off and a festival. Most organizations would just choose one of those and run with it. My husband John even said that I should just pick one and run with it but nooo, not me! I wanted it to be an event that many people could participate in not just a select few. So off we went into planning the Texas Fallen Heroes Memorial Ride & Cook-Off.
I had no clue what I was doing last year when I started planning our inaugural event. I ordered a few books from the internet and the library and prayed like I heck. We had a few good volunteers and a few willing participants and we jumped off the cliff holding our breath and squeezing our eyes shut. It was holy chaos. There is no other phrase that would describe it any better. It was holy chaos planning it and it was holier chaos on the day of the event. I shed a few tears (and I don’t cry much), I had a few nervous breakdowns, and I wondered over and over why I was doing this.
For two weeks I obsessed about the rain and sure enough on the day of the event it rained like it was the floods Noah navigated. It was also 30 something degrees. I shed a few tears on that day as well because I was sure our event was ruined. But in came the motorcycle riders. One by one they showed up. Almost 200 of them pulled in despite the cold and nasty weather. And out at the fairgrounds the the cook-teams were partying and cooking away. And even though the weather was disgusting we managed to have an incredible time.
And at the end of the day, after we had sloshed through ankle deep mud, had been soaked to the bone, and suffered with mild hypothermia, I knew it was all worth it because it wasn’t about me, it was about them.
It was about the family of firefighter Lance Mathews, who died in the line of duty. It was about his family. It was about all of the fallen firefighters and EMS workers that they represented. No amount of our tears shed in planning the event could match the tears they have shed over losing their son. It is completely worth all of the hard effort and sacrifice in order to get a picture like this
Every single one of them had a smile on their face. Through their grief and through their loss I have walked with them. From the first 12 hours after they lost their son until this moment, years later, where I was able to get them all under one rain soaked tent and put smiles on their faces. They are completely worth it and there is tangible proof because I am the one in the front row wearing the black jacket with the big, goofy smile
. If I can honor them in such a way and walk with them long enough to be able to do this, I am completely blessed in my work.
And so it’s the reason why this year I have chosen to do it again. It’s why this year we are making it bigger and better. It’s why this year every little detail has to come together. It’s why this year, nearly every moment these last few weeks that I am not taking care of Catherine, John and I are hammering out the plan. And yes, I am having a few nervous breakdowns and I’m praying every single moment that we scrape by with the right amount of donations and volunteers and participants. I haven’t shed any tears just yet but there are bound to be a few before this thing is all said and done. Right now, I am just too consumed with the busy work to cry.
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