Do it for Kevin

I know this time of year brings a lot of messages telling you to give money here and donate to there and help this or that...The only difference between all of those other messages and this one is that this request involves two men who are very important to me.  Most of you don't know them, and probably never will.  That's ok.  I will fill you in, and then you can decide if I'm giving you a worthy cause.




PJ and his winter beard :0)



The first man I'm doing this for is my husband, PJ.  He and the rest of the Texas Roadhouse management team have set a goal to raise $5000.00 for Special Olympics.  I will tell you right now, they aren't even close to reaching that goal.  In two days, these men will plunge half naked into a frozen Montana lake whether they raise the money or not.  It's because they are dedicated, and this is an important event. 



Kevin with his 2010 SO Medals



The second man is Kevin.  He's PJ's big brother, my brother-in-law, and he has Down Syndrome.  Kevin has participated in Special Olympics his entire life, and he has a closet full of medals to prove it!  The sense of accomplishment he gets from competing is huge.  Kevin is one of the sweetest, most down-to-earth people I have ever met.  It's no wonder PJ is so committed to this cause.

I can tell you want to know how to help.  I will tell you, but first, consider this: If we all do something small, we can make big things happen.  I'm not going to ask any of you to donate $5000, though if you can and you want to, I won't stop you!  I know the economy stinks, and money is scarce.  But do you have $1?  Or maybe $5?  It'll help.  If each of my blog subscribers gave $5, that would be an extra $105.  If each of my twitter followers gave $5, they would raise $4295!!!

I wouldn't ask if this wasn't important to me.  Will you help??  Every dollar is appreciated.  The fun part is, if you get involved, we will share pictures of the guys during the plunge!  They're not just dedicated, but also a little crazy!  If you've decided you can spare a buck, visit their website here.  If you can't, that's fine.  I thank you for taking the time to read this anyway.

GM John and PJ before the 2008 Polar Bare Plunge

Today holds some very good memories for me.  It also brings a lot of heartbreak.  Each year, I try to see the blessings in both.  I'm sure that the more years pass, the more my memories are going to fade until the two events cancel each other out.  For right now, one is still amazingly lovely, and the other a tangible test of my faith.

As a woman with 20 years behind me (barely), I was lost, confused, and living on my mother's couch (literally).  I had dropped out of college, moved in with my mom, dated a few guys, learned some painful life lessons, and was sure my life was over.  I lived in a very dark place internally, and honestly didn't think I would ever recover.  So when this random guy I had talked to a few times asked me on a date, I thought little of it.  After all, they were all the same, and not right for me.  I agreed to go with him though.  Why?  Because his smile nearly melted me to my core. 

When he picked me up that afternoon, I had no idea what I was in store for.  I was more than a little surprised when he pulled in at the little local drive in restaurant, Ford's, so he could order me a cinnamon Coke, one of his favorite treats.  While we were there, he took the T-tops off his car so we could soak in the wonderful May sunshine.  (I didn't tell him that it bothered me to have my hair blowing around in my face until our second date.  That's when I left a ponytail holder in his car so it wouldn't matter the next time.) 

We drove along the river with our cinnamon Cokes, laughing, talking, realizing I really enjoyed his company.  He took me to the fish hatchery.  (Nothing says "romantic first date" like a zillion little fishy kiss lips.)  We spent a lot of time at the park wandering and talking.  My heart wasn't dark that day, and it felt good.  I really hated to see it end.  Nothing can go on forever, so eventually he drove me back to my mom's house, to my little couch, and I thought I'd be overtaken again.  As it turned out, he didn't want the day to end either, so after we ate dinner with our own families, he picked me up again and we made the date epic.  That's right.  We went to see Titanic in the theater.  I had seen it before, and Leonardo DiCaprio still died, but even that couldn't bring me down.  I was happy.  Happy was something I hadn't felt in months, and I liked it.

That first date was May 5th, 1998.  PJ and I got married that December, and just celebrated our 11th anniversary.  God knew exactly what He was doing when He got us together.  I may have doubts about a lot of things, but my feelings for my husband aren't in that category.

Now, that's a nice story, and I'm sure you have a silly smile on your face, but our story turned around on May 5th, 2007.  I knew it was coming because my midwife had confirmed it a week before.  I still just wish it hadn't turned May 5th so bittersweet in my heart.  Knowing that I had two babies inside me who hadn't grown, who didn't thrive, who wouldn't live nearly tore me apart.  My body chose one of my happiest memory days to reject my precious babies.  I miscarried, forever dulling the good memories just enough that I'm never sure if I should smile or cry when this day rolls around.  Usually before the day is over, I do a little of both, and my heart is cleansed for tomorrow.