Miracles For Mitch

Four years ago my son Max spotted a sign at the gym for a kid triathlon and he was ALL over that idea. I signed him up, he trained his little 9 year old butt off and I missed it. Yes, it was one of those days on the calendar that was split with another day and I misread it as being the following week. Luckily, my friend Annie was the one who made me realize my error before the "big" day. PANIC..what the heck was I going to do?? My little guy was training hard and I missed it. It's not like they have triathlons every weekend.

Annie to the rescue.

She found Miracles of Mitch Triathlon, Kids Running For Kids Who Can't. It was 2 weeks away and close to home. I signed Max up and told him that we were doing a bigger and better triathlon, not knowing ANYthing other than what the website told me. He quickly went door to door and asked family and friends for donations since it was also a fundraiser for cancer and he raised $670 the first year.

We (Max, Claire and myself) showed up on that early Saturday morning, it was drizzling and cold and we had no idea what to expect because as all of you know, doing a triathlon or even running a 5K is NOT something I would EVER do. Max has exposed me to the world of people who run for fun, I still don't get it but I support it;). What I didn't expect was for our lives to be forever changed.

The first thing they do when you arrive is to write the name of the kid you are running for on the back of your leg. Max ran for Buzz, a boy his age with Leukemia.

Ready, set..time for the grand entrance into the park, each age group is represented and enter starting with the 7 year olds and ending with the 17 year olds all wearing their swim caps. In the front of this procession are the Miracle All Stars. The kids with cancer who the kids are running for. Smiling faces, some still bald from chemo and waving. Claire and I stood there clapping with tears running down our faces. They have one of those All Stars speak to the group before the triathlon starts. It's nothing profound, it's just a little about them and a high five shout out to the kids basically.

Flash forward another year and Claire was listening to the All Star speak. She had passed on doing it because she doesn't like swimming in a lake but helped her brother raise money. Claire is also her Mother's child and can't wrap her brain around those that run for fun.

This All Star was finally in remission and she was competing in the triathlon. Claire looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "If she can beat cancer and do this, I can beat the lake and do it too".

The next year she did it with her brother. She didn't seem to "enjoy" it but she enjoyed being part of something so amazing. Max always finishes with a smile, high fives the next handful of runners and then asks where his butter burger that Culver's donates is at;)

This year was Claire's second time and she enjoyed herself and finished with a smile and was also asking for food when she finished.

Together they raised $1246. They have a family total of $4266 over the four years of participation.

This year I had the pleasure of standing next to one of the All Star parents while waiting for our racers to pass us (her son won't be able to do it until 2012 due to his treatment but her nephew was running) and we chatted a bit.

This short conversation gave me that knock upside the head that I needed. It put life back into perspective. I get so busy with our lives that I forget to be thankful, truly thankful. I don't have to worry if they'll be here next year. I don't have to worry about what treatment is doing to their bodies. I just get to celebrate what amazing kids they are or be irriatated at them for not listening when they should or eating what I cook. I get to be proud of them for their generosity and compassion for others. I get to hug them every single day.

So, thank you to the Miracles for Mitch foundation for changing our lives and continuing to remind us that you should take nothing for granted and hug your kids as often as you can.

At the finish line after the triathlon

With their Medals for finishing and Mitchie Award because of the money they raised