For those that personally know me, I hate good-byes. Given the story of my life, that isn\u2019t all that surprising.\u00a0 Reed\u2019s Run has come to an end.\u00a0 It was a wonderful four years, and the success of those four runs continues to inspire myself (and hopefully others).\u00a0 There is much more to the story than the countdown blogs that occurred before the run, and I feel now is the appropriate time to share them.\u00a0 But somehow, I just can’t just the word good-bye when describing a labor of love for the last five years.<\/p>\n
It all started two days before the actual run.\u00a0 My parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew had arrived, and we were all in final countdown mode.\u00a0 I received a somewhat intriguing call from one of my \u201cbesties\u201d.\u00a0 Her call was that she was leaving work now, and she needed me to meet her at the street because she had something really important for me.\u00a0 I knew that she was struggling with some health issues; so, I was nonplussed at the request for the espionage style hand-off.\u00a0 In my mind, I thought she had a donation from her employer whom we had asked for a sponsorship for the run.<\/p>\n
When we met for the transfer next to the mailbox, I knew immediately it wasn\u2019t a donation.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t have much of a poker face.\u00a0 Her grin from ear to ear said it was something much more significant.\u00a0 She told me that she had a story to tell before she gave me the surprise.<\/p>\n
It started with a reminder that a gal with whom she works was having a garage sale today.\u00a0 Okay, no big deal.\u00a0 Then it transpired into details that another gal (also in on the sale) brought a big tub of toys for the sale.\u00a0 Earlier they decided that the best approach for all those toys would be to dump them en masse on a big table and to offer a certain price for each item.\u00a0 As the garage sale gals were sorting and arranging, one item jumped out at them.\u00a0 The co-worker stood speechless.\u00a0 She proceeded to grab the item, jump in her car, and head to work.<\/p>\n
She pulled aside my bestie and asked, \u201cCould it really be?\u201d\u00a0 To which my friend said, \u201cIt has to be because no one else in this town has this name and after all, that\u2019s Kandy\u2019s handwriting.\u201d\u00a0 Standing barefoot in the driveway, my hands received a gift straight from heaven.\u00a0\u00a0 With tears streaming down my face, I lovingly held Reed\u2019s t-ball mitt, emblazoned with \u201cR. Stevens\u201d in my penmanship on the side.<\/p>\n
At that point I knew that Reed\u2019s Run was going to be a huge success because we were given a love token\u00a0straight from Reed that day.\u00a0 It was the boost we needed to finish out all of those last minute details.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t Reed, but it was a piece of his story.\u00a0 The memories we had with that glove, which was faithfully used for a few years until he outgrew it,\u00a0came flooding back\u00a0.\u00a0 Eventually, we gave it to friends who must have given it to someone else until it landed in that garage sale.<\/p>\n
The mitt’s history didn’t matter at that moment because\u00a0the best part of the story was on a sunny September day, it slid right on home.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n
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