Hello friends and family;

On September 24 I intend to run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It will be my second time running a 5K (my first was with Jane VanderMeer in Madison) and my first time running it in Grand Rapids. I celebrated being able to walk the GR Race for the Cure last year--being healthy and strong enough to make it 3.1 miles behind a stroller. This year I celebrate my ability to run! It's a treat to hear Zoe say, "I'm jogging like Mommy" instead of "try it!" when I couldn't even lift her during chemo.

I intend to run the Race for the Cure 50 times, or until a cure is found. Perhaps each small step I take will get us closer to a cure. And, perhaps, Zoe will never have to know the fear of breast cancer. This also means, of course, that I intend to be a breast cancer survivor for quite a while!
If you'd like to sponsor me in the Race, this website is a great way to do it. I chose a goal of $2,000. $100 for each week of chemotherapy. (I originally wrote $1,200 thinking I had only done 12 weeks of chemo. Chemo-brain apparently lingers for a while, since I actually did 20. So, I'm upping my goal to $2,000!) And while I run, I'll think of all of you who supported our little family on our cancer journey. Cancer treatment is becoming a more and more distant memory for us (blessedly), running the Race is another step forward on our post-cancer path. If you'd like to run with Jane VanderMeer and me, sign up and let me know where to find you at the Race! I apologize in advance that the amount you have pledged will be visible to visitors to this site. If you'd like this to be private, you may like to make it anonymous and simply e-mail me to let me know that you've pledged. I am grateful for any amount and can't seem to get the page to offer privacy on this matter. Shalom, Natasha