A Happy Ending
Today was the perfect ending to my Lakewood A to Z challenge. My wife (Amy) and my son (Tim) completed the entire route with me, Mayor Meghan George met me at the corner of Wyandotte and Lakewood Heights Boulevard to walk the last street with me, and I was completely blown away by the awesome reception and finish line I encountered as I finished Wyandotte.
The finish line was fully representative of my different “Lakewood Families”. There were people from:
- Lakewood Alive (the great organization I was raising money for)
- Lakewood Congregational Church (my spiritual family)
- Equitable Advisors Lakewood (my office)
- Chonky Boys FC (my adult soccer team)
- My Personal Friends and Family
They cheered me on as I broke through the finish tape. I was feeling emotional, having travelled almost 1,000 miles over the last 7 1/2 months. There were two other major milestones. I had started this challenge to get in better shape. I accomplished that, having lost over 30 pounds in the process. I also wanted to raise $5,000 for Lakewood Alive. We almost got there. The GoFundMe link through this website brought in $3,870 and my parent company (Equitable) matched an additional $1,000, bringing the total to $4,870. Perhaps a few people will be motivated to make a small donation to get that last $130!
If you have appreciated something in this process, feel free to leave me a final comment on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Now I will wipe away the small tear forming in the corner of my eye and try to figure out what adventure awaits for me next!
