I'm home and ready to FIGHT BACK!

We didn't get home until 2:00am this morning, hence...the late blog update.

Wow. That's how I'll sum up the past few days. From the moment I arrived at the airport to the time I left Reno, I was blessed with hugs and well wishes from people I've met this past year through Relay. Whether I spoke at an event they attended, they heard Amy and Angie speak last year, or they were loyal blog readers, I felt completely blessed that I had touched their life in some way that they would seek me out. Thanks for all the love. (you know who you are, Heather, Lacy, Donna, Shirley, Gayle, Audrey, Shelley and Mr. Mauss)

I attended an event called "Relay for Life Summit" where event chair people, key committee members and top fundraisers learn from the best. My brain is on OVERLOAD. I can't wait to share some of the great ideas with next years committee and my teams. I had a great time with my traveling companions ~ Jane, Karen, and Sue. We are all very excited about taking our Relay to a whole new level.

There was only one little problem I came upon during my trip. While in the airport on the way down to Reno, I saw my friend Shelley who asked if I was ready to speak? I said, "you're kidding, right?", and she said "no, you're kidding. Right?". Long story short, the night I went to the Mariner game, I was supposed to be in on a conference Internet meeting about speaking at a breakout session. Oops! I guess I missed that meeting. Truth is, I didn't have as long to worry about it (and I know the story well~I've been telling it for 29 months). I spoke with 3 other people, we had some question and answer time, and I felt honored that they asked me to do it.

I laughed, and cried (surprise, surprise) and really felt empowered. Some of the survivor stories I heard about reminded me that 10 years from now...the survivor story I tell about Rick and I will really impress people.

One funny story to share...I was sharing the hotel room with my friend, Jane Gum. If you don't live with me you don't always hear the coughing, but I do have a cough that can sometimes be annoying. On our last morning in Reno while we were getting ready, I had a little coughing spell in the bathroom while we were both getting ready. Jane turned to me, once the coughing stopped and said "You know, it's so nice to know that I'm not going to catch anything from you. If this were someone else with a cough, I would have thought to myself, why didn't they just stay home if they were sick?" She was a great room mate, but we were like 12 year old girls, talking until wee hours of the morning then having to get up early for meetings.

We were in Reno, so my other personality, "Dori" also came along on the trip. When we finally got out of our meetings at 8:30 -9:00pm, "Dori" wanted to go into the casino and play. Truth is, I had fun too! I blame bad behavior on "Dori". It's easier to explain that way. :)

Dreaming Big,
Doreen