Two
weeks ago I participated in the Sandy Hook Run for the Families virtually. I
sent in my donation, agreed to run 3.1 miles and should receive a t-shirt soon.
Previous posts go into further detail so I will spare you here, and will
provide more details on how amazing the run turned out in another post.
Prior
to the run a local radio deejay got word on what I was doing and asked to
interview me on the radio. I knew I was not interested in doing that, but had
to dig inside myself to put into words why not and here is part of my reply to
him:
For
me this is just me going out for my weekend run and asking friends (and friends
of friends I suppose) to join me. Every runner runs for a purpose. Some runs
are to reach goals, some are to prove to ourselves that we can, indeed, go
farther, or tackle a new challenge. This run just happens to be for the
families in Sandy Hook. This wonderful country of ours gets smaller with
tragedy and so on March 23, I, and others, will simply be going out for a run
that is purposely for the children whose lives were lost too soon, many of them
the same age as our own children.
And
it’s true, every day I run for a reason.
I’ve
been doing a lot of genealogy research lately, with a focus this past year
being on my grandmother’s sister, husband, children and my grandmother’s
brother who were living in Poland at the time of the Holocaust who undoubtedly
were killed as a result of Hitler’s prejudice. Just recently I have found new
answers. In a little more than a week I will be leaving for what I am
continually referring to as a once in a lifetime trip to DC to meet up with my
aunt. I am hoping for laughter, a bit of sightseeing, but the purpose of the
trip is to spend two days (at least) at the United States Holocaust Museum.
I’ve wanted to go for many years, and always envisioned it to be a solo trip as
part of a family vacation. Planning the trip with my mom’s sister and hopefully
finding more answers about our family’s history makes the idea of going alone
no longer an option nor desire.
Tomorrow
is Holocaust Remembrance Day and “Today I ran for all those who were killed
during the Holocaust and dreamed of running away to freedom.”
Running,
to me, isn't about being fast, it's just about being able to have the freedom
and physical health to run.
