Where Did I Run To?

I did the disappearing act again and feel that it is worthy of an explanation. Where the heck have I been for the past 5 weeks? Halfway through a major freaking fundraising campaign for one. But that's not even the half of it, and as of this weekend it will be time for me to slow my roll down for a bit. This means that for the next few months this girl will be running for her health and for her sanity, and not for cash and notoriety.

Over coffee last Sunday morning, Jason looked at my weary frame and reminded me why I was feeling a little deflated. I had just come off a flurry of amazing activities that had literally zapped the energy out of me. Over the course of the past few months we had launched a huge new initiative at work and partnered with an company offshore. I had also traveled to the Philippines twice, Mexico once, Florida for a conference, and a couple fun trips to NYC and DC. Then I was granted the Triangle Business Journal's "40 Under 40" award, and still managed to toss in my 39th birthday...all while conducting a 10-week flurry of fundraising emails, calls and activities for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) "Woman of the Year" campaign. 


Everything culminated last Saturday night at the LLS Gala. We won.

I have to say though...that winning felt fabulous. Winning the LLS "Woman of the Year" campaign was both unexpected and thrilling. Don't get me wrong, I do just about everything with the intention to win, but there were some hurdles along the way that made this fundraising endeavor more challenging than I anticipated. It is with sheer humility that I say I couldn't have done this without everyone that contributed time, effort, auction items, and money. To each person that offered up cash...I thank you. To all that donated auction items or helped secure them...I applaud you. To everyone that tolerated my exhausted rants and short temper...I appreciate you. To my dear friends Carl, Brad, Mike and of course Jason...thank you to iContact, Dante, Emily, and Valerie... bless you. (And not in that Southern slightly harpy way.)


It was an absolute honor to run this campaign on behalf of Josh Paryz and his incredible family. Every time I encountered them I was reminded why this campaign was so important. "Boy of the Year"? Seriously, this kid is going to be President someday. Just wait, wait, and see what becomes of this articulate, kind, and already brilliant young man. And Mae, Josh's counterpart in this campaign? She is a beautiful and delightfully elegant girl that will grow up to be an absolute stunner in every sense. That these two children have gone through the pain and turmoil of cancer, is almost beyond words. So to them, their families, to everyone involved...thank you for letting me be a part of this. I am forever changed by knowing you. You now have a warrior on your side in this fight against blood cancers. Just don't be alarmed if I disappear for a bit and take a little nap in the sand. I will return to help fight the good fight.

A Little Reminder

A dear best friend lost his dad this morning. Sometimes we just need to be reminded how gloriously amazing this life of ours is. Be known, be present, be loved.

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body. 

From Preface to Leaves of Grass, 1855
Walt Whitman

Storm Troopers

I would be remiss to classify any of the weekends I have with Jason as normal. Even during our anticipated downtime, we somehow manage to instigate things and converse about things that set the day delightfully topsy-turvy. Nothing is ever expected and nothing is ever, ever dull. Perhaps some of our inability to prophetize is due to our excitement and newness with each other, but it seems more likely that it is simply our two complimentary beings colliding. This weekend was of course, no exception.

On Saturday afternoon we found ourselves gallivanting through Raleigh with our dear friend Amy. She and I are known throughout the Philippines as "The Twin Towers" and also seem to attract chaos, complexity and entertainment at every turn. This human trifecta could only be interesting.

We three had all watched the weather report earlier and knew that precipitation was our future. Sure, there were talks of severe winds and inclement storms and tornadoes, but we took that news with a light-hearted attitude. The last time that the three of us were together in NYC, we experienced unprecedented winds, so we figured there was little that could get blown at us that we hadn't felt before. HA! As Amy later said, our combined personalities seemingly fuel and anger the weather gods. We three have a little Dorothy in us.

With that said, we prepared for the threat of historic storms by bringing coats. 

We should have realized that things were turning for the worse when the outdoor festival we were attending was suddenly dismantled and people began fleeing. The organizers were literally yanking the chairs out from under us. So instead of going home and seeking shelter, we wandered on over to Hargett Street and the Raleigh Times. The skies opened up during our one drink there, and then there was an eerie clarity and silence. Now I grew up in Wisconsin and have spent many a time cowering in a basement, so I know what that means. The tornadoes are a coming. So we used that little break as a sign that we should walk down to The Landmark Tavern. 

Now the Landmark holds a special place for Jason and me. We never fail to be memorable there and I seem to find my relationship courage at the bottom of their glasses. Most nights find us huddled together and animatedly discussing the future of the world and our place in it. I've had some of my most lucid and life-changing conversations within those walls.

So it was rather apropos that on those barstools we sat watching the weather on the TV and on our phones. We were still in denial of our doom, so we kept laughing about the pending non-event and telling tales of our prior weather adventures. Then it actually began around us. 

We could physically feel the pressure change, and then the winds picked up, the electricity went out, and there was debris whipping around past the windows. All of a sudden the doors blew open and needed to be bolted shut. It was slightly past 4pm and became pitch black outside. Dorothy and her merry men be warned. Once the tornado sirens began, the bartender calmly and loudly ushered us all into the women's bathroom where we stood together under candlelight with drinks still in hand. Of course everyone brought their drink. If you are huddled in a bathroom with people you love, you might as well have a good cocktail to toast with.

The storm went past quickly and left its path of destruction through downtown and throughout North Carolina. 22 people died and 13 counties are now considered to be in a State of Emergency. For all those that lost something or someone on Saturday, you have my thoughts. 

I certainly don't discount the severity, but I can't help but think...just a typical weekend...just a typical Sarah Saturday. And I love you both for sharing it.