A Great Day for Walking

On Saturday, October 23rd, my three kids and I went for a beautiful walk around the campus of Wake Forest University.  It wasn’t just any old walk.  It was the Walk for the Cure for Type 1 Diabetes sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation here in the Triad of North Carolina.  It was the third Walk of the season, having hosted Walks in Greensboro and High Point already.

The day dawned glorious! The sun seemed to dance along with our hearts as we walked under the balloon arch. We were walking for a purpose, walking with friends, walking to support our daughter and all children and adults like her who live with this disease.  My heart was full as I walked with friends who came to walk with Maddie:  her soccer coach and his daughter who is a teammate of Maddie’s, a nurse and dear friend from Baptist (not pictured here; she was taking the picture!), my parents, and both of my teenagers.

As I walked, I also remembered the numerous people who had given to JDRF in Maddie’s honor…friends both near and far who couldn’t join us at the Walk, but who nonetheless gave of their resources to promote the research that will one day find a cure for diabetes.  It may even happen in Maddie’s lifetime!

We joined up with her very good friend, Jessica, and her family.  Here’s Maddie and Jessica walking along together.  Jessica was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes one year prior to Maddie and was a fifth grader at Maddie’s school last year.  We met her when Maddie was diagnosed and she has been such a friend and encouragement to Maddie!  Her family reached out to us with open arms, offering advice, listening ears, and empathy.  I will always treasure this family!

These photos were taken by my oldest daughter who is becoming quite the photographer with her new high tech camera.  I asked her to be the photo-documenter this day.  I had originally thought I would create drawings from the photos, but they are so beautiful, I wanted you to see the beautiful light and specifics of the day.  This final photo of Maddie says it all…a beautiful girl for whom the efforts of JDRF have given a rich, full life at the ripe old age of 8!

Thank you to JDRF for all you do for our daughter and so many others’ daughters and sons!

And thank YOU to all who contributed money and time for the Walk!

It was indeed a great day for Walking!

0 thoughts on “A Great Day for Walking

  1. Dan says:

    Beautiful photos by daughter #1! Maddie is beautiful – this looks like a wonderful day. Great colorful, happy little sketch of the walk. Reminds me of the autism walks we go on every year.

Leave a Reply to ellen Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *