Wednesday, April 28, 2010

thank you

Our first JDRF walk was last weekend and we had a great time, despite the wet weather. I made a video with some photos and a song that apparently infringes upon some copyright laws, so if you watch it and there is no soundtrack, just cue up your favorite song to listen to while you watch the images go by.





It was very moving to be among so many people sharing a common experience and goal.  Before the walk, they asked everyone with Type 1 Diabetes to raise their hand. Then they said to keep it raised and to look around at all the other people in the crowd with their hands raised. I think it was a really powerful moment for L. I know it was for me, anyway. Then they pointed out all the people in the crowd without their hands raised, and said that all those people were there to support them.  I totally got teary.


Another moment of public display of emotions happened earlier in the week, at L's school. There was an assembly for all of the students in kindergarten through fourth grade, the topic of which was "courage", one of the core values they emphasize at L's school.  The head of the lower school introduced L to come up and say a few words about what it is like to live with Type 1 Diabetes. L told all the kids that it wasn't contagious and that she can do all the things everyone else can, she just has to do some extra stuff to keep healthy. Then they played our fundraising video on the big screen.  All the kids seemed to get a big kick out of it, even if they've never heard of Christiane Amanpour, or Laser Cats, for that matter. As the lights came up, everyone began applauding and it got louder and louder and then I noticed all of the teachers from the lower school were standing and facing L and applauding. It was very moving and John and I were brought to tears.  As some of you know, a couple of years ago, we made the decision to move L to this new school. And over the last 8 months, we have been shown time and time again that it was the right decision for our family. Our experience in the assembly last week was just another example.

Thanks again to you all for your support over the last 8 months. <3
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2010 at 4:49 PM

    Love, love, LOVE the school stuff. YAY!!

    But: Holy mother of video editing, how did you do that? The photos are AWESOME. The one of the crowd walking through the woods with the umbrellas poking up? Yeah. I got a little misty there...

    And how on earth did you time it so perfectly to the most PERFECT (why didn't I think of that?) song.

    Potty break during a run/walk event?? Welcome to my world.

    You, my M Family, are best!
    (see how I edited your name out for the sake of interweb creepiness?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. shannonApril 30, 2010 at 4:53 PM

    YAY INDEED! :D

    Dude, it's a simple program called iMovie. I'm glad you dig the pics. They were all from mine and John's phones, so not the best quality, but it worked. There's one toward the beginning of the kids walking where you can see the whole crowd snaking behind them (you may have to go to 480/full screen to spot it). It was an amazing feeling.

    And you're to sweet. I went through a couple of other song choices, but nothing worked until I hit on this one, at which point I also said "why didn't I think of that?" ;)

    I hope they have more potties on your races than they did on this one. ;P

    You're pretty awesome yourself. Thanks for your support. <3

    ReplyDelete
  3. firedancermomMay 11, 2010 at 1:33 PM

    awesome! perfect song for that video and between that and L's video being shown at the assembly am all teary right now. so moving.

    she IS a strong red-headed girl and that will serve her well. and yes, they should definitely have more potties on a walk for people with diabetes! lol Our first walk seemed like yours -- so amazing to see so many people with the same goal. :)

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  4. shannonMay 11, 2010 at 8:51 PM

    Aw, thanks so much for you kind words.

    The potty sitch was seriously dire. I plan on mentioning that in the follow-up survey from JDRF.

    ReplyDelete

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