The Relay for Life was a wonderful celebration of life and a thoughtful experience for the adults and kids who attended. We each shed a few tears during the survivor lap and luminaria ceremony but we also shared more than a few laughs throughout the night as well (some of this due to sleep-deprivation and general punchy-ness in the wee morning hours, but mostly it was just in good fun).
I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to some of our team's many helpers.
Thanks to our luminaria bag decorators - Julie Otte (Naptime Notes) and her daycare kids, Margaret Logan (Just the Fashion Basics) and daughter, Kristen DeQuattro (The Scoop) and kids, Laurie Marcello (I Need a Minute) and daughter (with friends), Amy Bevan (The PranaMama) and kids, Courtney Durgin (Heart of the Matter) and girls and the Almeida girls. This group decorated more than 60 luminaria, which was a wonderful tribute. It was also a sad commentary on the number of people our team has known who have faced cancer.
Thanks to Kristen DeQuattro for organizing shifts to cover the entire overnight event of walkers. There was never a minute we were without a Relay walker representing our team out on the track from the opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. until closing ceremonies at 9 a.m.
Thanks to all our Relay walkers!
Kristen DeQuattro (The Scoop)
Susan Hyde (Educating Mama)
Erica Irish (Maine Adventure Mom)
Courtney & Mark Durgin (Heart of the Matter)
A. Durgin
W. Durgin
Meg Kusturin (Mom of Nine)
B. Kusturin
K. Kusturin
C. Kusturin
G. Almeida
L. Almeida
Karen Beaudoin (Raising Maine Magazine editor)
Shannon Bryan (MaineToday Media & my co-worker)
I want to offer a special shout-out to Kathy Eliscu (Grandma Happens) who couldn't walk at Relay due to a family illness but raised the most money as an individual on our team. Her grand total was $720.00!
There were a lot of donations made to our team and I want to especially thank a couple of our bloggers who made donations in honor of family members - Allison Wells (Mama Bird) and Debbie Hastings (Notes from the Home Office). Jackie Conn (LUV2LOSE) and Weight Watchers of Maine also made a very generous donation to our team via Kathy's member page.
I could not have taken on planning this Relay event without the help of Meg Kusturin (Mom of Nine). She helped organize all the team's supplies at the event and provided the tents and screen house that kept us relatively dry during a wet event (it lightly rained pretty much the whole time - but we were grateful there weren't any downpours).
She also made every one of our team's walkers a pink bandana to wear while on the track. This made it easy to spot all our team members. Meg also brought along some great costumes for the themed laps and was a big part of the reason we won first place for "team spirit." If you see her sometime, ask her about the Hawaiian lap and the impromptu hula story/song performed for the lap judges. I was laughing too hard to get any video but trust me, it was inspired!
Although I was exhausted (and sore) by the time we packed up and drove home from Relay, there was no question that I will be organizing a team next year. So if you want to join in the next one, keep an eye out in the fall for the Brunswick Relay for Life date.
I also hope that next year we can raise even more money to help cancer research. We need to fight back and find a cure - for Ann (Just Thinking Diaries) and everyone else fighting this horrible disease!
Our Relay team's first leg of walkers.
We had several great helpers setting up our team's luminaria.
We all held our thoughts close to our friend and fellow blogger, Ann Murray Paige (Just Thinking Diaries) during the event.
The survivor lap was very touching (I admit I shed a few grateful tears for these survivors). You can see our team's matching pink bandanas in this photo sewn by Meg (Mom of Nine).
Erica (Maine Adventure Mom) drove two hours to walk with us. She and Meg (Mom of Nine) walked a few laps together.
The Mardi Gras lap was one of several themed laps our team dressed up for.
I believe the Hawaiian lap was our team's favorite - and silliest - lap.
Our team won several of the themed laps for our costumes and general silliness all night.
Another team offered a way for all Relay walkers to track the number of laps they walked using beads. We made a donation for a piece of string and then for every lap we walked, we collected a bead. Every four laps was a mile. The kids, and I admit several of us adults, became super motivated to collect beads. There were several team members that earned their "silver" bead, which represented walking a half marathon (13 miles). Karen, Shannon and I earned our half-marathon status along with K & C Kusturin and L & G Almeida.
And in case this isn't obvious, I felt every one of those laps on my hips, knees and feet after Relay. I felt the need to pop a couple of more ibuprofen this morning before heading to the office. I know my minor discomfort is nothing compared to cancer treatment and that helps keep a lot of things in perspective.
I know I haven't mentioned everyone who helped with our Relay team but believe me, every contribution made to our team was very much appreciated!
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