Its been a long time since I posted anything here.
Very busy at work and trying to get things done around the house etc always thinking I never have enough time to get all I NEED to get done...do I really NEED to get some of these things done??? Yes and No...
Then a dose of reality hits and then hits again....I am sitting here knowing where I am going with this and as a result I somewhat down ...but I really have it pretty good overall..especially compared to what others are going through everyday and for some an especially difficult time. Some of you may have heard the news or read the paper today and saw that an Ar gentian man ...32 years old died while doing the swim leg of the NYC Triathlon on Sunday...some swimmers said it may have been due to jellyfish stings...leading to cardiac arrest.. an apparently healthy man dying while exercising....I am not writing this to scare anyone or discourage you from doing a tri...they are alot of fun and I really encourage everyone to try them out.....just pointing out the fragility of life......
Then my main focus here...it is coming up on the one year anniversary of the death of Christopher Barron....some of you know that name immediately ...some may recognize it but can't place it immediately... others have never heard that name...Christopher was a 9 year old boy from Glen Rock, NJ who battled ALL from the age of 3 and eventually lost his battle to AML last July 23rd...he was an eldest son to Richard and Suzanne Barron...an older brother to Ryan...a grandson to Anthony and Colleen and to his paternal grandparents...a great friend to countless kids...a cousin to at least 7 people including his best buddy Jake....a nephew to many aunts and uncles including our coach Melissa Muilenburg...a Mets fan through thick and thin and an inspiration and hero to alot of people...including me...I unfortunately never met Christopher before he was taken from us way too soon...but I feel like I knew him just a little...I heard the many stories both good and bad....heartbreaking and some of hope from Melissa, on the run and while sitting down just talking about Christopher...I worked for his grandfather while in law school so I had a connection there.....
Christopher was a hero to the end...he was a young boy who had a very special spirituality and inner peace...he apparently never complained or asked "why me?"...he was concerned with how his family members were doing as they watched him battle everyday...he was concerned that they were going to be ok....I have heard the stories of how he had a very special bond with his Mom......I remember last year when Melissa was setting up a Bone marrow Drive to help find a match for Christopher and she was hoping for a few hundred people to show up and get tested....as I pulled into the parking lot at the Glen Rock Ambulance Corps I saw the line of people out the door and down the steps...and the banner that Christopher's classmates made with their hand prints all over it asking people ..."To Help Their Friend Christopher"....seeing TNT alumni including Christopher's teacher who I had coached at RNR Virgina Beach..its a very small world....friends of Christopher's parents...people from Glen Rock...strangers who just saw the request of the signs and showed up to help a fellow human being...I may be off in my number but my recollection is that over 1200 people signed up to be tested at that drive and a couple of others as a direct result of Christopher and his Aunt Melissa...Christopher was working his magic already!
At the Chicago marathon last October it was unusually hot...93 degrees give or take a degree during the race...hundreds of people passing out ...sub 3 hour runners...4..5 hour runners it did not matter...Christopher's Aunt Melissa was there and called on his magic to get her through and he got her through...her strength had a lot to do with it too!!! I flew down to Houston last January because of Chicago's heat my attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon did not go as planned....no one but Melissa knew i was down there and she only knew just in case I needed some help back in NJ for something....as i was running and passed the halfway mark....I was on pace feeling good....I took a hammergel and it immediately came back up...this had never happened before...I was in a panic..was my race over??? I had Christopher's picture on the back of my race bib...and I had a St Christopher's medal that his Aunt Melissa had given me pinned to my shirt...I rubbed them both and asked Christopher for his help...I calmed down and realized that I was on pace...I was going to be ok and with an angel on my shoulder I was able to get back to race pace and crossed that finish line and was headed to Boston....yes I had put in the miles and the hard work but running is at least 50 % mental and Christopher was with me every step of the way...not to get preachy or religious (and I am far from that) but I talk to him at least once during every race ...thanks Christopher!
And this past weekend...we were running in Mountain Lakes..Aunt Melissa's hometown...she did a wonderful heartfelt Mission Moment and as she was speaking (and I thought I was the only one that noticed) a tiny rabbit (bigger than a baby but not yet an adult) hopped into the group and stopped..he/she hopped away when Melissa was done...I saw that as a sign and then later Jill Hague asked me if I had seen the rabbit...I am reading into things???? Maybe.....I am a big Tigger fan (because he's the only one!!!) and for those of you that know Winnie the Pooh...remember his friend's name...Yes that's right...CHRISTOPHER RABBIT...coincidence??? I think not....
And when you are faced with a tough moment in your life or during a run ask for Christopher's help and I am sure he will be there on your shoulder to guide you along
I know how I have been affected by this special young man and I know for a fact that others have been also....I know I could not hope to convey how special he is to me and I can tell you this was both one of the easiest things I have ever written and at the same time the most difficult....I hope those that read this can gain some insight into this special boy and take something positive and also please keep the Barron, Andora, Muilenburg etc families in your thought and prayers especially this week...it is a very tough time for them and I can not imagine how they have coped so well in the face of such a terrible loss...I know they all miss him terribly ..... Thank you for reading .............
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Well you know everyone, I always check out what coach Bill writes...sometimes I think it will help me understand him??? who knows???
What I will say to all this is that for a guy who spends so much time thinking about and giving to others, I am not quite sure if he takes his own advise....
Some know that I have had quite the rough go at this thing called life, constantly tested, often failing the tests. But last year something happened that had a profound and permanent effect on me and has helped to bring me one step closer to the person I have always wanted to be.
Your Coach Bill, announced to me, one day, that we would be going to a bone marrow drive to help a sick child. He ANNOUNCED it, and then proceeded to tell me I had no choice, I had to go...he was not taking no for an answer. Well in all honesty I think I have seen one to many futuristic horror movies because the thought of giving my DNA out made me sick, and still does....(Big Brother is watching.)... But of course I would do it if it would help this boy. And to tell you the truth through everthing we have been through he has never,ever, not once, told me I had to do something.We drove up to the drive and there was this huge sign with childrens handprints on it and it read "Thank You For Helping Our Friend." That sign moved me...it saddened me to think that a bunch of 3rd graders were worrying whether or not their friend would die.
I decided that day..I had better learn how to run, because I needed to help find a cure for this horrific disease.
These days there are many hours that I am consiously grateful for being here, and surviving my ordeals and past....and I know in my heart that I could easily be in coach Melissa shoes as well as any one of us could.
I hope we all remind ourselves that today is truely a gift and that we all need to enjoy the goodness in each day, because well...."ya just never know".
I am deeply gratful to Christopher for helping affect this change in me...he is my Angel through my days, and certainly on the race course as I complete each event by finshing my race...against my better judgement and lets face it desire. My sense of acomplishment with Team In Training comes not from crossing the finish line but with how many people I can help to raise funds to get themselves there...and to see what kind of fundraising goals I can keep on acheiving. So all of you on "The Team" I hope you put as much time (or more) into your fundraising as you do your training so that coach Bill will stick to writing about running, his passion because he will not have any stories of children and families suffering through cancer.(Hopefully after reading this he may take his own advise and breathe and lighten up and enjoy life...be grateful)..."cause you just never know"
Thanks Bill for that inspiring reading about Christopher. I was running a bit with Melissa on a training run in Mahwah. She mentioned her nephew and their loss while I was at the end of my energy and endurance level. She and her nephew are such a wonderful and special person for Team in Training. She helped me through the tough spots. I have been thinking about her blessed Christopher and will do so on the Marathon day. Thanks for the "ramblings"!!! I do also believe in Bunnies and Angels. They are always on our shoulders through our daily lives whether it is training for a full marathon or simply driving your children to school. Take care of yourself. You are a "one of a kind type of guy"!!! Thanks
Thanks Andrea and anonymous...I was unsure whether to continue to write on the blog but when I read comments like yours...I will continue to blog and I must say that although I may not seem to take my own advise I do it more than most people think I do
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