We all made a difference - well done!
May 12th, 2008 by AdrianThank you to everyone that supported the Mother’s Day Classic - from the organisers, the runners & walkers, the sponsors, the fundraisers & those amazing volunteers - well done on making this year’s Classic the best one ever.
When my father was dying a few years I promised him on his death bed that in anything I tried in the future I would aim to make a difference. It is with great interest that I noticed that the first line on the front page of the MDC website it says “a chance to make a real difference”.
Well I can say that to all that participated on Sunday, we all made a difference. Well done!
All funds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation have a positive impact in shaping our future in their quest to finding a cure for breast cancer. Along the way they will save many lives of Australian women. Nearly all of us will know someone that has been affected by breast cancer and it must be gratifying to know that chances of survival have improved dramatically in recent years following the increase in research and awareness.
You may not know which life was saved, but have a smile on your face knowing that you helped in whatever way in “making a difference”.
As always Mother’s Day produced magnificent weather. Chookie & my gorgeous wifey Kylie went to Parramatta Park for the first time after years at the Domain in Sydney. To see a crowd well over 3,000 was amazing given that the MDC only started here last year. Chookie had the wonderful honour in starting the 4km race. As she was running the race herself, she was tempted to do the old schoolyard trick in taking off herself before saying “go”. I must say that Chookie is improving with age as she seems to be moving better now as a 62yo. If she keeps improving with age then I might have to come up with a new nickname for her as she won’t be the old chook for much longer!
I have often said before that Mother’s Day is my favourite day of the year & once again it didn’t let me down. The happiness I felt when I saw Chookie’s face cross the finish line (as a symbolic gesture that she beat Breast Cancer for another year) was something special & something that is hard to describe in words.
A few weeks ago we announced Chookie’s goal of making the top three in her age category … to be honest I thought it was going to be a tough challenge for her especially with all those super fit grannies & it would mean a few weeks of training - something which is foreign to her … but she did it & guess what? Not only did she reach her goal of making the top three … she won her age category!! Woohoo Chookie!! Now we had one very stiff & sorry Chookie at lunch but boy was she so happy - her grin was wider than Sydney Harbour. Apart from winning dad’s heart over 37 years ago, I am not sure if she ever won anything else in her life. Now she is an “elite athlete” and is talking about “defending her title” next year!
Now it doesn’t matter where you finish, so long as you participated & I was so happy to see so many people show up in supporting a great cause. It was great to see so many men in support of this great cause as well. Well done guys in supporting your loved ones. It was also superb seeing so many young children out & having fun. Not only are they enjoying a healthy lifestyle, they are also made aware about Breast Cancer issues at a young age.
After the race it was great to see everyone cool down together & enjoy the entertainment. I reckon the boys from Mix were the busiest as they must have given out hundreds of spot prizes. Well done to NBCF and the sponsors for providing so many prizes.
To all the mothers out there, I hope you had a great Mother’s Day. You are all very, very special and precious to us.
I regularly joke about some funny things that mothers say to their kids … and how they are often threats. I reckon a heard a hundred of them on Sunday. My favourite one was by my very own mother Chookie … “I brought you into this world … and I can take you out as well.” Aaah yes, dear old, sweet, innocent mothers!
Finally I would like to thank the National Breast Cancer Foundation for giving me the opportunity to express my thoughts over the past few weeks. Hopefully you enjoyed it. After almost losing mum in 2000, I am forever grateful in having her with me today and for many more years to come. I also look forward to spending many more decades with my beautiful wife Kylie. I wish all of ye out there the same good fortune.
Sincerely yours & I look forward to seeing ye again next year!
Adrian Raftery, aka Mr Taxman.
PS I love you loads mum and I am so so proud of you!
May 12th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Ran the 4km in Brisbane on Sunday, just as well I had my sunglasses on as the amount of times I started crying reading everyone’s backs with the names of loved ones, I had the same emotion reading your blog. It certainly was great seeing so many men and children running as well, with all the problems in the world isnt it great we can all get together in support of this great cause.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Wow what a day, thank you for everyone involved in a fantastic day. One of my best mothers day’s yet. I started getting fit last August by chance at the offering of a friend to join a mothers get fit group. One month after starting i got the devasting news that an aunty (by choice not by blood), doreen, who in all reasons could have been my mother due to the bond and love she shared with my mother for 40 years as best friends, was dying. Her body was riddled with cancer and had gone undetected for months on end. Originally she was diagnosed years ago with kidney cancer and had been cleared. Now the cancer was back. How could this be she had passed a recent check up for the kidney cancer in August with flying colours? Now she had a secondry cancer that started from the breast. Instead of celebrating 40 years of friendship one weekend late September 2007 I had to sit down and tell my mother that her best friend was dying with only weeks to live. What seemed like a blur passed for four weeks with hospital visits then palative care, until the end when surrounded by her 9 children, I shared the honour of bidding farewell and goodnight one last time. From that time on I made some personal committments of my own. I would always love and protect her daughter, my best friend, as much as i could. And I would finally give myself the acknowledgment and believe in me that my Aunty had always held. So I continued my fitness journey. Along the way i stumbled with sadness and emotions at times but kept going. I encouraged my best friend, Doreen’s daughter, along with her daughters to come to the day and complete the 8km walk. I wanted to share this day with her. Yesturday i celebrated a life shared with an a women who shared everything she had from her last dollar to every drop of being loved that she could. I celebrated her belief in me by running 8km, when i have always been one of the most unfit ladies around. And i celebrated everybody else’s loved ones who have struggled with the awful cancer. Thank you to everyone who organised, ran, walked, volunteered, cheered, shared and loved on the day. Yesturday was a day to celebrate that women bring a love and care to our world and through joining together we will hopefully find a cure. Finally thank you to my aunty Doreen, for loving my mum every day for 40 years unconditionally, for giving me her daughter as my best friend who loves me unconditionally, and for the difference that she made to so many lives. I hope that when she checks on all of us left behind she is proud of how we are going forward.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Thanks Sylvia & Lisa. I would love to hear stories of other people that competed on the weekend.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Well done Rafters, well done Kylie and MOST OF ALL, well done Chookie!!!!!!! I have memorised that line, “I bought you into this world and I can…”, my kids are going to get that delivered to them some time in the future (too young now to understand the meaning, maybe next week). I’ll be thinking of Chookie when I say it. I might join you next year I think. Will start on the glucosamine tomorrow!
All jokes aside, it’s “love” that gives meaning to life. And everyone who runs in this event is motivated by love. It’s the most heart-warming display of humanity, and you should all be very proud of yourselves.
Pam
x
May 13th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Wow Adrian
I joined the lovely people in Melbourne for the 4 km walk this year for the first time and had an absolute hoot of a time. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to join a more than worthy cause - and yes I have 3 daughters who I was doing the walk for. Next year I am gathering a group together to join in the fun again! Thanks for the opportunity.
Belinda
May 14th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
What a great write up Adrian and others. My husband and I joined the 4km run in Melbourne for the first time this year. We have two small babies so decided to leave them at home this year. We look forward to having them run with us when they are old enough. It makes me proud to be apart of this event when I read peoples ’stories’ and proud of Australia for such a huge turnout in all states. It just goes to show what a great and compassionate country we are!