Friday, February 24, 2012

My role model...

When you think of a person in your life that you look up to you probably think of a parent or maybe an aunt of uncle or maybe even someone in the public eye that has inspired or motivated you in some way.  In my life I never thought much about a role model for myself.  I suppose that I could mention my father who was a hardworking and quiet man with a very dry sense of humor, but he died when I was just 20 years old and I never got a chance to bond with him as an adult.  I also could look to my father-in-law who was a big part of my life as an adult and who was definately someone that you coud look up to.

But, if I am being honest with myself there is one person that I do look up to and it isn't who you might think.  The person that I look up to is the whole reason I am running in the marathon and doing this blog; my oldest son Max.  Why do I look up to him?  Well, it isn't because he constantly talks back to my wife and I and it certainly isn't because he complains about e v e r y t h i n g from what we are eating to school to homework to bedtime to getting up in the morning to going to bed at night to having to comb his hair to not getting to ride shotgun in the car to what we are watching on TV to what we have for snacks to having to put his clothes away to having to clean his room to having to wash his hands to just being tired.  I swear if he isn't complaining about something (or whatching japanamation on TV) then I'm afraid he's sick.  Oh wait...he complains about that too. 

No, I don't look up to him because of any of that.  I look up to him because I know how impossibly difficult it must be to live in his skin and he does this without complaint.  I think of how hard it is for him to control himself and focus at school and still come home with A's and B's.  I look up to him because he does what he wants without regard for how it may make him look to other kids his age.   He will go to a dance by himself without even bothering to ask his friends if they are going.(Something that my wife and I agreed that we would never have dreamed of doing at his age)  He does not give a second thought to taking off his shirt to jump in the pool even though his chest is covered with small tumors and large cafe-au-lait spots.

I look up to him because no matter wht the cicumstances he knows what he wants and he is not afraid to ask for it.   I look up to him because he is an expert at adapting.  He can't write anything by hand so that it can be read but instead, he can type on a computer faster than most adults. 

I look up to him because in his short life so far he has had adenoid surgery, knee surgery and brain surgery and has been a better patient than anyone.  He has had to suffer through countless MRI's and medical exams.  He has had more blood drawn than a vampire victim and he has spent more nights in a hospital than I care to think about.  When he was lying in his hospital bed after his brain surgery and our hearts were being torn apart by the vision of him with the bandage covering the hole that was now in his head, it made me so proud that he didn't bitch and moan about how he felt, he just wanted to play on the ICU's video game system.  Oh, and get something to eat from McDonalds.

That is why he is the person that I look up to.  His life will not be easy, but knowing Max he will live it his way and to the fullest.  This is why I am writing this blog and running in the marathon and raising money for NF.  I want Max to have every chance possible to reach his fullest potential.  I would love to be able to pay back Max for being the awsome influnce that he has been in my life by helping to find a cure for NF.    But I can't do it alone.  I need you to donate to NF Inc NE in suport of my Boston Marathon run.  They do such great work and I know that they are trying their best to help find a cure.  But it goes beyond just that.  They have been instrumental in our lives in giving us advice, compassion, a shoulder to cry on and access to others that know what we are going through.  I know that as Max gets older and starts to make his own way in life, it will be a great comfort to him to have those same people available to him whenever life tries to get him down.

I know that there are plenty of great charities and causes out there but please give whatever you can.  It WILL make a difference in Max's life as well as the lives of thousands of others that look to NF inc for help.
You can donate by clicking on the link to the right or make a check out to NF Inc NE and send it directly to them.  Or you can send it to me and I will make sure it gets to where it needs to go.

Thanks.

Til next time...

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Randomness

In lieu of actually having something of any substance to say I offer you the following things that I am pretty sure that I think:

  • I think that flags should fly at half staff ONLY for people who have actively served this country and not for celebrities that have wasted their talent and their lives in pursuit of their own interests
  • Happy Endings is one of the best sit-coms on TV right now
  • I will really miss Tim Wakefield.  I know he has got a ton of crap over the last few years for his declining effectiveness and consistency but when is the last time you saw a professional athlete stay with a single team for 17 years and be a class act throughout.
  • I don't think we HAVE to have an explanation for last year's collapse by the Red Sox as some radio stations are clamoring for.  If we get an explanation will that change anything?  Just win this year and all will be forgiven
  • Barstoolsports.com is among the most ridiculous, misogynistic, juvenile websites that I have ever read and I can't stop checking in on it.  I am so ashamed of myself.
  • I will never, ever understand the appeal of watching over privileged "housewives" bitch about each other and how difficult their lives are on a daily basis. They should come and live my life for a month.
  • Will someone, for the love of all that is good and decent in the world, tell Geico that both the squealing pig and the caveman are the most annoying characters on television and I would not purchase their insurance solely because of those two add campaigns.
  • As long as I live I will never understand the world's love affair with soccer... or NASCAR.
  • Someone needs to tell the people over at ESPN that the dunk is really just a very routine shot and not every single one is worthy of a spot on their top plays.
  • Maybe it's the old man in me but I just don't get Twitter.  I have a Twitter account that my wife set up for me and I never use it.  Although I have been notified that I am being followed by several different girls that are apparently looking for a good time.
  • I am convinced that there is far more generosity and compassion in the world than we are led to believe by the media.  I have personal knowledge of this fact.
  • There are 56 days left until the marathon.  Have you donated yet?  If not, you should go here.  You will be glad you did.
  • Did Harry Potter actually do anything that he didn't end up with him getting bailed out by someone else?  I never cared much for the HP movies but every time Harry was in some kind of battle with the nose-less bad guy he never seems to actually win on his own.  As a matter of fact it seems like he always needed someone else to save his bacon and yet he is greeted by everyone as if he is some great wizardly badass.
That's all I got.  What do you think?

Til next time...

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Time to set some goals

There are only 64 days left until the marathon and my training has been going very well.  I am pretty encouraged that I am getting out as often as my body will let me (Of course, not having to get up and go to a job certainly frees up a lot of my time) and the fact that I am tolerating longer and longer runs without any part of my body being sore for the next 4 days. With all that being said I thought it was time to set a couple of goals.

 First, my fundraising goal : The last time I ran the marathon I set a fundraising goal of $2,000 and I am proud to say that that goal was reached thanks the the unbelievable generosity of family, friends, friends of friends and, most amazingly, some complete strangers.  This year I am aiming even higher.  I want to raise at least $3,000.  This will be very difficult but I know that, with your help we can reach it.  If you are asking yourself why should you donate I say to you...take a look at this kid.

The big kid not the baby.
Max is just as awesome as he always has been and I would love to help stamp out NF in his lifetime.  So please please please give as much and as often as you can.

Now for my race goal.  My goal this year is the same as it was the last time I ran.  It is to finish the race in under 5 hours.  As a point of comparison my finishing times in my three previous marathons were

2008 - 5:55:20
2009 - 5:21:29
2010 - 5:33:20.

So needless to say shaving 22 minutes off my best time will be challenging (or damn near impossible) but I am going to do my level best to make it happen.

So there they are.  Two challenging but ultimately achievable goals that I have 64 days to accomplish.  As always I can't do it alone.  I need your help. 

Here are all of the links you will ever need to help me out.

Donate to my run
See what NF Inc Northeast is all about
Learn a little about my awesome son Max

Thanks for listening and if you see me running out on the street give me a honk and a wave...I love that shit.

Til next time...