Diabetes Walk for Hope...Part one

First let me appologize. My blogging has been pretty spotty lately.  June is always a terrible month for me. I am super busy with commitments for my childrens' schools.  This June we have had the added pressure of a move and an uncertain moving date so my life has been thrown into an even greater state of chaos than normal. 

Admidst the chaos however, there is always a bit of consistency.  That conisistency is the incredible flood of emotions that always takes place during and after my son's school annual diabetes walk. 

For those who don't know, my children go to very small schools. My child with Type 1 diabetes has about 50 students in his school from kindergarten to grade 8.  Each year these students go out and raise money with one thought in mind...diabetes. For some this means that they are walking for a family member and for others it means that they are walking for my child.  No matter who is their inspiration, their efforts reduce me to tears every year. 

As I walked through the halls of the school on walk day, the first tears began to swell.  I had been grumbling about the lack of sanity on my part for taking on such an ambtious job in the walk t-shirts for this year. They were very labour intensive and I do not have a lot of spare time at this moment in my life. Someone suggested that this was a waste of my time because the kids would only toss their shirts in the drawer, never to be worn again.  I knew better.  This walk proved it once again. You see each year when our kids walk, you see a variety of walk t-shirts strolling through the halls of the building. They have various walk t-shirts on that they have earned over the past seven years.  It warms my heart to "see" their support. 

They don't do this for the prizes.  They never know what they will be getting this year.  T-shirts are given out based on how much money they earn and they don't get their shirts until the last day of school (it helps with students like my own son who forget to get all their money from their sponsors on time).

The tears began to flow for real when I started to open the bags of money and read the sponsor sheets.  We live in an area of high unemployment and retirement.  The school now sees two or three children from one family trying to all collect the same monies. Despite all of that, there were still amazing amounts raised by children from all levels. Kindergarden students who have never been a part of this event raised amazing amounts of money.  Older students walking for their family members sent me to even more tears. 

As I look forward to moving on with my life, I look back at this school and the tears flow like never before.  They have been so very, very good to us in so many ways.  They have been more than a source of education. They have been a family who were there for us every step of the way.  They have made a huge difference in our lives and saying "see you again another day" this Friday will be one of the hardest days I have had in a very long time!  I have been so very blessed to have know the staff and all of the students who have wandered those halls over the past 12 years.