Tick Tock

Down to ten days now. The gear in 99%, and my life is mostly situated. I've gotten over most of the hurdles. Now it's just a waiting game. And as Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.

Let me talk a little bit about the last few weeks, more specifically the Chits & Bits Game Marathon, which was last weekend. It was a long weekend but I'm mostly recovered. The event was amazing- we had more than 150 people in and out during the day and upwards of 25 (I think closer to 30) that spent the whole 24 hours with us playing games. We gave away over a hundred raffle prizes and while we're still waiting for the final dollar total, we know it was over $20,000. Twenty. Thousand. Dollars. I still can't wrap my head around it. Last year we raised just over $6,100 for the entire year. That means this year we more than tripled our total. All of which goes to help the sick children that need the services of The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital.

It's humbling to be part of something that has grown from an idea that I had into something so big. A big part of my motivation to hike is to share how important Extra Life has become to my life. I can't imagine a better cause to ally myself with. The love that I have for my fellow Extra Lifers, the bond that we share due to common cause is strong- stronger than any I have ever experienced. I was asked to share what makes me successful as a fundraiser for Extra Life by my hospital reps. The reason is because of the team that I work with. Every member of the team makes the whole team stronger. A worthy cause is bigger than one person. I can't imagine a better cause.

More before I leave, I promise.

Remember - it's about the journey.