Surrounded by positive energy

Clare,
We survived THON…
we actually thrived at THON.
It was and incredible weekend, it was filled with laughter and singing…
some shouted conversations over the other 15,000 people in the building…
support and love were everywhere.
There was frustration with the pass system for getting onto the dance floor with the dancers…
but thankfully the lines for food and bathrooms were short…
and people were smiling.
I commented to my daughter#2 about how happy everyone was…
for 46 hours we were bathed in positive energy…
the whole event is about helping others when they need it most.
It was especially good to see veteran THON families helping the newbies…
those who had fought the battles…
some winning and some losing their children…
helping those who are struggling now.

There is one family in particular, who lost their daughter on Christmas morning who attended with their other 2 children. I knew their story because they are the THON family of daughter#2's campus. They were so tentative and looked overwhelmed when they arrived Saturday morning…
by Saturday evening they were surrounded by loving supportive parents who had children with cancer and students who just want to love them…
they were smiling and happy and their kids were playing with others.
I watched the Mom's face as a band played a song about loving and being seen…
she was living those words…
right there in front of me…
she was feeling every emotion…
I could see it in her face...
It was good for my heart…and those of the others in the building I would say.

Daughter#1 was strong, mentally and physically…
but she allowed her support people to help her and share the experience every step of the way.
She LOVED the messages from everyone!
I received text after text from her about them…
or she would run over to our corner in the stands and yell, "Miss Marybeth!?! Really?!?"...
she would sometimes just text a name from her past with emoticons of excitement and appreciation.
I think this weekend will give her a very different, much broader idea of the true support network that she has in this world. I was able to get messages from her grandparents, and 3 aunts (thanks), her first babysitter, her teachers, her gymnastics coach (from when she was 6), her kindergarten best-friend and her mother…and so many others…I am too tired to remember all of them.

She said she will make a scrapbook and put all of that love into it…
what a wonderful reminder that will be…
not only of the incredible weekend…
but also of the people who have helped to shape her into who she is.
I wish I had a scrapbook like that.

Anyway, they raised a record amount of money, $13.3 million…
that really resets my belief in young people and their abilities.

Daughter #2 and I stayed most of the weekend in the building, but not all of it.
We both left about 4 am Saturday…slept for 5 hours and showered and returned about 12 noon. Husband and sons arrived about 8 and got to see the pep rally- all of the teams do dance routines for entertainment. I took the sons back to the hotel about 11…husband and daughter#2 stayed. About 3 am husband returned to the hotel so I got dressed and returned to the dancers…the building was at capacity so I had to go to an overflow area for 2 1/2 hours and then got into the building. After that daughter#2 and I stayed until 4pm when it was all over.

It was grueling, especially for daughter#2 who was on her feet for 27 hours straight…I can't imagine how those dancers felt, many were being supported (literally held up) by their THON families. In Viktor Frankl's book about WW2, he told about Nazi tortures of forcing people to stand still for extensive periods of time…I caught a glimpse of that this past weekend. Daughter#2's feet are swollen past her ankles and tender to touch. I haven't spoken to daughter#1 yet…but I would assume she is in pain as well…although she runs extensively so her body is used to physical demands out of the ordinary.

Courage, Wisdom, Strength, Honesty…those are the four diamonds…it was so good to see all of that play out in front of our eyes.

I am so grateful for your love and support.
Love and Light

PS- I just spoke with daughter#1 she is awake and getting ready to walk to class…what a woman!