A Walk for a Cure

I must admit that there are just some things that I need to be pushed on. One is going to anything pertaining to CF. It's not that I don't want to go, it's just that I really don't want to admit that it lives in this house. It's a funny little disease that ranges from mild to really, really bad. We are lucky to be mild, but when I go to CF stuff, I see the really, really bad stuff and, frankly, it breaks my heart and I just don't want to face it.

This is where my lovely parents step in. They are behind us 110%. In fact, while I was procrastinating on fundraising, they were busy gathering checks. And this year, I had no excuses not to walk in what is the biggest fundraiser for CF - GreatStrides.

The goal? Raise $5000. My reaction? "Mom, we will never get that, lower it." My mom's reaction? "No. We'll get it." Did I tell you that my mom is pretty tight with God? Anyway, I put out an email asking for money, which is just so nerve racking. (I know, how did I ever make it in sales?). But amazingly, the next hour brought several emails with donations for Jeb's team. And each day brought more. I was a basketcase everytime I opened up the computer. Tears kept flowing and I'd spend the next hour pulling myself together only to have another email come through alerting me to another donation. I was wearing sunglasses to school in the rain - my eyes were forever red-rimmed.

In the end, between my parents team and ours (which made up the full 'Jeb Team'), we raised over $7000!! (Did I mention my mom has a thing with God?) I guess I should never have questioned it. We received donations from all over the world and from a lot of friends we hadn't seen in awhile. It's the most humbling experience I have ever had in my life. (Here come the tears again!).

And on May 21, we had a beautiful day in Grand Haven to walk with Jeb and several of our friends and family in support of a cure for CF. It was a great day. And it's been a great experience.

I've been thinking a lot about how CF has changed our lives. Honestly, we appreciate each day a little bit more...and each breath a little bit more. It has opened our eyes to other families that have it so much worse than us, but still manage to smile in spite of the difficulties they face each day. In short, I think CF has opened our hearts and made us more compassionate. Would I love to not have it in our lives? Oh yes, but God just didn't have that plan for us. So, we'll walk this path and pray for a cure. Jeb may not have won the lotto when it came to the two CF genes that he has, but he sure did get a heck of a lot of personality and who can say no to those big brown eyes of his?

And to all our friends and family who have supported us, there are just no words to express how much it means. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

The Koops Clan at the end of the day (obviously!)

Poor Papa, pushing the prince in his chariot!

The boys reunite with the Harrison boys only to explore the porta jon. Yuck!

Jeb's Team...THANK YOU!!!

Behind Every Great Kid...

Is a Mom who is sure she is screwing him up!

Tom has heard me stress about this so much in the past year that when he saw the card in the store on the Saturday night before Mother's Day, he bought it. Which makes me think that if it's at Hallmark, maybe it's not just me who is stressing about their kids.

It seems that we get trained for everything - driving, cooking, sports - but we don't necessarily get training for motherhood. It's on the job training only and if you do happen to get it wrong, you don't get your grade for 18 years! That is some huge pressure! Most days I don't think about it, but this past year the pressure has added a few wrinkles to my brow.

A few examples:

1. All I did was correct my children today. ie, 'Don't chew with your mouth open' and 'Remember your manners'...Did I even say something positive to them today?

2. I remained calm during 45 minutes of their 50 minute bickering and then I lost it in the last 5 minutes...I like to call it my shock and awe approach to parenting.

3. I couldn't take the on-slaught of the word 'weiner' while eating brats tonight, not to mention the laughter that ensued after each mention of the word. I ate alone in the coat closet...will they ever get over toilet talk?

4. Sports...we didn't start at age 3, are my boy's chances at being good over?

5. Fighting, tattleing, hitting. If they really wanted to torture terrorists they would put them in a room with 3 siblings for 8 hours. World peace would prevail within weeks. Instead, I keep a bottle of Pinot Grigio on hand at all times. Did I really crack it open at 3:30 today?

These are the things that keep me up at night. Or, when things get really rough, these are the things that keep Tom up all night because I'm asking him over and over if he thinks I'm messing them up.

And then a new day arrives and I'm given a second chance to start over again. And again. And again. And, they do seem somewhat normal, even polite on some days. But, I've got 10 years left til my first report card. Stay tuned.

Oh, and Happy Mothers day. Let's hope I get it right more often than not this year!