19 weeks and counting…….
This week marks 19 weeks until the big race. As I prepared to kick off my One Dad Can initiative, I promised to be transparent and vulnerable. Well, in all transparency, the last several weeks have been very challenging for me. Don’t get me wrong, I have continued to receive pictures from my network showing their blood donations, for which I’m extremely grateful. The challenge has come from me questioning myself and my goal. Was I too aggressive in setting my target? Is it possible? Did I bite off more than I could chew? As I mapped this initiative out in my mind, I methodically envisioned each milestone mark to get 10,000 commitments to donate. It’s funny how life’s realities don’t always align with our mental plan.
I needed positive thoughts, feedback, and/or perspective to stop my stinking thinking. I wasn’t sure where the infusion would come from, but the infusion did come from a most peculiar source. The infusion started when I picked up my bib and t-shirt for the 2023 Regal Turkey Trot. As I stood in the line to get my items, my thoughts started drifting back to the Sunday before Memorial Day. For those of you who may not be aware, on that Sunday, my 2 Sickle Cell Warriors were both hospitalized and needed blood transfusions. My Son was in Nashville, and my Daughter was in Knoxville. It was on that Sunday that the One Dad Can initiative was born.
Getting that bib number and t-shirt started to fire me up inside. As I approached the starting line for the race, the fire continued to grow. My wife, my 2 Sickle Cell Warriors, and my Daughter-In-Love were at the start line cheering me on as I and over 3,000 other runners approached the line, waiting for the official signal to start. And I’m off. The smoldering fire was a raging inferno as I approached the finish line 43 minutes and 25 seconds later to cheers from my family. The fire was smoldering and didn’t grow back into the inferno, fueling me until I crossed the finish line.
Once again, IT’S on!!! I’m going after my goals with a raging inferno burning inside of me….increasing donors-specifically diverse donors, increasing Sickle Cell Disease awareness, and 10,000 donors are the goals… One Dad Can!!!