Surprisingly, I’m relatively awake for 1:13 AM, especially for someone working with one unit less of blood!  That’s right…I had my second therapeutic phlebotomy tonight!  Maybe that was bad blood or something…it must have been holding me back because any other night, I would be exhausted by now…I feel like I’ve had a transfusion…that’s how much energy I have at 1:15 AM (yes, it’s taken me 2 minutes to write these last couple of sentences ).

I’m pretty sure though that it doesn’t have anything to do with the blood and it’s just pure adrenalin.  You see, today is kick-off day for my Man & Woman of the Year campaign!!!!!  From now until June 11th, The Growth Factor (my team name) will be working hard to meet our goal of $50,000!  The past few hours, I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on e-mails, figuring out how to do mail merge on the Mac, printing up address labels, fixing a printer (why do these things always break right when we’re in the thick of things? ) and social networking my little heart out.  And it is all for ONE. IMPORTANT. CAUSE…

“to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families” (the mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society).

From blood transfusions to phelbotomies…from fatigue to energy…from diagnosis to newfound health…these past six years have seen many transformations, and this campaign is my ultimate gesture of gratitude to an organization that makes second…and third chances possible.

Happy kick-off Day to everyone!!  If you find me whining at all over the stress of the campaign the next ten weeks, kindly remind me of this post and how far I’ve come.  It is an honor to be able to help others.  I think Calvin Coolidge put it a little more eloquently:

“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”

And here’s a little motivational photo to get everyone in the fundraising-kick-butt-state-of-mind:

You’re ready to help me kick some butt now, right?!!  Woohoo!!!!!!  Here’s to ten weeks of fantastic,  fascinating fundraising festivities!

Love,

Julie

For more info, visit my Man & Woman of the Year campaign page.