Susan G. Komen 3-Day, 2012

The Jason Show is going to take a break from the Delusions mini-series for a good old Susan G. Komen 3-Day shot in the arm.

This year, our team decided to take a break from all of the fundraising and volunteer to work on the 3-Day lunch crew.  In this capacity, we served lunch to all of the walkers and other crew out on the 60 mile route in San Diego.

This photo was supposed to be of just me.  I love those three 3-Day clowns behind me.

At first, I assumed this would be easier than walking 60 miles.  In many ways, I was wrong.  Who knew that providing lunch to nearly 3,000 people on three different days would be so difficult? First, we committed to four days instead of three, as we were required to attend some meetings and go through some training.   We also left camp each morning before the walkers, which meant we had to get up even earlier.

Do you see how the rainbow ends right on Susan's head?

Then there was all of the set up each morning at the different sites, which included unloading two 15-foot trucks and setting up the different food and hydration stations.  There was the actual serving of the food, the trash pick up, and providing walkers with anything they might need.  And of course, we did all of this with a smile and lots of enthusiasm, even when a few of the walkers let their fatigue and pain get the best of them.  Once all of the walkers had finished their lunch, we cleaned up and reloaded the trucks.  All day involved lifting and manual labor.

My favorite part of the whole process was greeting walkers with cheers, smiles, stickers, and encouragement as they made their way into the lunch area.  This also involved a lot of dancing, which is always a good time for me.

Truthfully, throughout the first day, I wondered if I was regretting crewing instead of walking.  After all was said and done, I am glad that we had the experience, but I missed the walking experience a lot.  Turns out, so did the rest of my team.

My team!  Once again, my heart swells with happiness as I think about this small group of people who made the whole experience a blast.  We have such a great time together!  The best part is all of the laughter.  I never laugh as much as I do on a 3-Day.

Together, the San Diego 3-Day participants raised nearly $6,500,000.00 for breast cancer research, prevention, and community outreach.  Together, we collectively came together for a greater good, and we all felt what it would be like to live in a world with more love, more kindness, and no more breast cancer.

This is the part where I cry like a baby.

Am I walking again next year?  OF COURSE!  I have already registered.



*Many of these photos were not taken by me; I swiped them from participants' Facebook pages.  Thanks to all of them!