So the big day finally came! On June 25th I ventured up to Boston to participate in the overnight walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. And I have to say it was AMAZING!
The city was beautiful right by the water. I'm a girl from a small town, so it took a while for me to take it all in. Going to the walk was a big hard step in an emotional way. I took many deep breaths preparing to walk up to the registration table. It was hard to believe that again I am doing a large walk in memory of my mother. It was a big reminder that I still don't have my Mom here. However, I looked around at the other people standing in line and realized that they too are being reminded that their loved one is no longer with us.
The opening ceremony was extremely hard. Everyone spoke how hard of a journey it has been for them, this crazy journey of grief. Of the great struggles and of how great they feel having this amazing foundation here to help others. At this moment, I truly lost it. As I walked to join my fellow team-mates, my heart broke and the tears just continued to stream down. My team-mates were such great friends as I literally cried on their shoulders and they found a way to cheer me up. They were truly being great friends!
The walk itself was great! It was a little over 17 miles! My team started at 7:45 p.m. and ended at 4:10 p.m. I truly forgot how physically straining it was to your body! There was a moment when I was very tired and exhausted, but I was looking around at the other walkers and saw one person with a cane! Her leg was wrapped up with ice and she was still very enthused with the walk! So that of course gave me more motivation to continue to walk!
After everyone walked across the finish line of the walk, we all sat for a well needed break. Shortly after that the closing ceremony began. We found out that over 1,600 people walked in the walk! And we raised 2.2 million dollars! It was great!
As we walked back to the hotel, I felt like a super hero. Doing something truly great for others, all in the memory of my loving mother. And the best part was that through this all, I'm not alone.
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