On Saturday, October 14, we joined Chris' Crew on the Walk to Cure Diabetes in Napa, California. Last year the same crew walked in memory of Chris, Jim and Terry's youngest sister who had passed away that July.
Terry worked hard all year as one of the chairman to bring this walk into reality. And what a walk it was! Jim and I were remembering the first walk we did back in Boston. The year was 1992. Chris had recently been diagnosed. We walked half the course of the Boston Marathon - some 13 miles of it! While it felt great to be part of a lengthy fundraising walk, the view was nothing compared to what we had a couple of weekends ago!
The grapes ripening on the vines, the autumn sunlight that casted gold on everything it touched, the upbeat feel in the air. All the children were happy to be running around outside, picking and eating grapes as we went.
What was even more satisfying was the postwalk reunion back at the picnic area. Chris' Crew - some 15 of us, young and not so young - reconvened for lunch and some catching up. It was wonderful to see the familiar faces of the people who knew and loved Chris. Jim made a toast. We had some tears, and some laughters. The only thing missing was Chris herself. I hope she was smiling somewhere - happy that because of her, such an event took place and brought all of us together.
No comments:
Post a Comment