Monday, April 15, 2013

Relay for Life Wrap-Up

As you are no doubt aware (ad nauseam at this point), Dr. M & I participated in his school’s Relay for Life event Friday night. By the time I got up there at around 6:45 Dr. M had already been at the event for over 4 hours (on campus since 7:30 or so). We grilled some hotdogs, walked the loop, waited out the cold in the tent, walked the loop, crocheted (well, that was just me), walked the loop. There was music most of the night & they had some raffle drawings. It was a pretty small event – no doubt because of the cold weather.

When I wasn’t practically trotting I remembered my plan to walk mindfully. I slowed down and considered the path before me, and thought of the people I was there honoring. I’m a stomper (just ask our former downstairs neighbors – oy!), but I tried to tread lightly. Frankly, the loud music & cold wind weren’t really conducive to meditating. I’m going to try again the next time we go to our local fen.

By the end of the evening I was using a cane to walk. The event was supposed to end at midnight, but other folks were packing up at 10:30, so we decided to pack up too & left a little before 11:00. Dr. M was so tired and I was pretty sure that I couldn’t feel my thighs anymore. It took about 2 hours under an electric blanket for me to thaw out. Yeesh.

Then I spent the next two days in quite a bit of pain (unrelated? Not sure, really – lower back/butt/thigh pain). But today I’m feeling a lot better. I’m pretty sure I’ll survive – although at one point in the night I was not the least bit sure.

So, would I participate again? Absolutely! But next time I’m going to remember my long johns…




14 comments:

  1. Burr! Heaven points for participating.

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  2. I admire both of you so much for doing this...in the cold, no less! I'm glad your pain is mostly gone now.

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    1. Thanks! The cold kept me moving anyway. Ha!

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  3. I do not enjoy the cold either...but if well prepared...GO FOR IT! And, good for you!

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  4. When we did it, strong storms came in with threats of tornados...relay for life must have a deal wth the bad mizer brother or something. Always bad weather.

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    1. My dad said that they get thunderstorms every year during the event in NC. So I think you're right about the deal with the bad mizer brother!

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  5. The best parts of this post are the hotdog grilling and the electric blanket. I'm such a slacker!

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    1. Well, frankly, they were the best parts of participating too :)

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  6. Oh, yeah, SWMBO is grilling some hot dogs in the George Foreman right now!

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    1. We've got an indoor Foreman, of course, but also a small portable propane grill made by Foreman. It doesn't have the upper surface like the indoor grills, but it does have a solid aluminum non-stick grilling surface which is really nice for grilling chicken, hot dogs, sausages, and such. Quick set-up and easy clean-up!

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  7. Of course, if you remember your long johns there will be a heat wave. Good for you doing what you were able -- and at least thinking about being meditative. Our RFL at the high school goes all night, but then again, they're teenagers so its only unnatural for them to be awake during the day!

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  8. Well thank you for walking. My advice is to walk the way you usually walk--you can be more in the moment when you do so. Also, you will not be throwing off your gait. Your body will thank you.

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