Hello! It's been a very busy two weeks, but we're back and we're good and we're excited to share what we've been up to! First off, and most important, today is July 29th, so Georgia is now NINE months away from Official Cancer-Freedom! We've been talking over ways to commemorate the Big Day, and whatever we decide, I can promise it will be as special as she is - so stay tuned!
When we last left off, we had just picked up Georgia from her writing conference at Sewanee. She had a fantastic experience, made many new friends, and spent quality time with her professor discussing her future as a writer and her options for college. The next 18 months or so will be full of conversations like that, and we're so proud of her for taking the initiative to ask questions and get advice from those in the know. Our girl is growing up, dreaming big, and setting her sights on a bright future - and we're thrilled to be swimming in her wake!
As I also mentioned in our last post, we picked up an extra passenger on our way to pick up Georgia from Sewanee. The story goes that after a pit stop at the Brinkley, Arkansas McDonald's, I
scooped up this lump of sugar in the parking lot. She was dirty,
dehydrated, and very upset with her situation, and her mama was nowhere
to be found. The vet in Memphis checked her out, cleaned her up, and
pronounced her "healthy and sooo cute." She was five weeks old and tipped
the scales at a scrappy 0.2 lbs - yes, 2/10 of a pound. The minute I saw
her, I knew she was born to be a Texas girl, and Clementine Brinkley has made herself very comfortable with us ever since.
In fundraising news, and the main reason we've been a bit quiet around ye ol' blog here, we just completed our third event in as many weeks, and we are a bit heady from the success! First up was my (ahem) high school reunion. The organizer is a dear friend, and he agreed to let me add a fundraising component to the weekend. Long story short, with a percentage of ticket sales, a silent auction, and four awesome shavees (which included an on-the-spot decision by a friend's fiance to join her brave betrothed in going bald - say that three times fast), we raised over $5600 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation! Everyone was so generous and engaged, it was quite a weekend for all - both in furthering our mission to end childhood cancer and in reconnecting with dear friends. So thank you, thank you, Class of '86!
My planning partner and soul brother, Greg
Next was the main event - the 46 Mommas Lucky 7 Shave! Despite the HEAT, Mommas came in from Hawaii to Rhode Island and everywhere in between, and we definitely had an event worthy of the bright lights of Las Vegas. I'll follow up with more details and pictures, but suffice to say, we are now $500 away from $1.9 Million and on our way to $2 Million! Here's a Good Morning, Las Vegas interview I did (on my birthday!) with some fellow Mommas to promote the event as well as a follow-up article on TODAY.com:
Finally, last night was our third event, the Austin Attorneys in the Arts show. I participated as a performer last year, and we were back again as the charity of choice for this year's show. I shared a short video about the 46 Mommas and St. Baldrick's and then I shared a bit about Georgia's journey and our involvement as a family in advocacy and fundraising. There was an audible gasp when I called Georgia up on stage, and it was a special moment for the audience to see her there, healthy and happy. She answered lots of questions and helped sell some of her original art, which made me very proud of her, once again. We raised about $1000 and are looking forward to our next event in September!
For now, though, we're slowing down for the last full week of the girls' summer at home. Ivy just finished up three weeks of her beloved creative writing camp, and on Friday, we're headed to Hunt, Texas to drop them both off for two weeks of fun and adventure at Camp Mystic! It's been such a great summer so far, and we plan to soak up every minute that's left.
We'll leave you with another, very fitting, moment to remember today - the day this whole crazy head-shaving thing started for us. Here's when the Peachy Keens first decided to Be Brave and Go Bald! Have a great weekend, y'all!
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