Take time every day to laugh, to think, to cry

Still in this weird funk! I think I'm just tired. While it has been a long few months, it hasn't as time moves so fast now. All we have is now. I think I'm worried about being up to the challenge of running AWF. The bad ass, take-no-prisoners person you all know and love has taken me 25 years to create. This persona is the one you have been allowed to see. She is strong and capable; there is nothing she can't do. The one who writes this blog tends to be a little more vulnerable with definite weaknesses. In this position (Executive Director), I feel like I must be "on" all the time. I have to guard against stupid mistakes as it takes 20 years to build a reputation and only 5 minutes to destroy it! I think that's what I miss most about riding (the Harley) as that was a time I didn't have to be "on". I could just be Tami. It was a very freeing time. I've been thinking a lot about my career and what I have accomplished. While there have been some very defining moments and I have enjoyed the ride, I worry that I will not have the stamina to continue the "good fight". To that end, I have been reading some inspirational accounts of folks who battled cancer and what they accomplished whether they beat cancer or not. One of the stories I found was about Jim Valvano, who died of bone cancer.

James (Jim) Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993),

nicknamed Jimmy V, was a college basketball coach. Shortly before his death, he gave a speech and noted the following: "To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." Shortly before his death he established the Jimmy V Foundation.

The Jimmy V Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer. The foundation seeks to make a difference by generating broad-based support for cancer research and by creating an urgent awareness among all Americans of the importance of the war against cancer. The V Foundation performs these dual roles through advocacy, education, fundraising, and philanthropy. Its motto is “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” What a wonderful legacy. I can only hope my legacy will be as good!