And then the part where I give things away

Oh, if I even began to tell you about my day yesterday you’d be exhausted. Or maybe bored, but that’s just a detail. A small detail. I mean, first there was the part where I couldn’t drag myself to get out of bed at 4:00 a.m. to run and so I slept until 5:00 and loved every minute of it. But then that, of course, led to the part where all I think about all day is how I’m going to get that run in later. So then that leads to the part where I fly through my work, eat lunch at my desk, fly through some more and try to get home to run before my doctor’s appointment.

And do you notice how I skipped right over work, because hasn’t that become the elephant in the room? The elephant that no one talks about [on the Internet] but everyone knows is there, standing, constantly leading you to think that, hmmm, living in cardboard might not be so bad.  So, we skip that part.  And, viola, we’re at the part where I leave work, run (pain-free, knock wood), and go to the doctor.  Then I have the last in my series of (knock wood) miracle injections, make jokes with the doctor about being The Three Thousand Dollar Woman, and then rush out —still likely smelling of my six pain-free miles, mind you— and go to meet a friend for dinner.

Then, finally, the moment we’ve been waiting for, I remembered this:  two days ago was the third anniversary of my very first blog post ever. Yeeha, right?

Well, it is right. And I’ll tell you why, mister.  Because I’m going to give something away.

So let me ask you a question.  Have you heard of Livestrong.com?  Yes, of course you have. Because you don’t live under a rock.  Well they have some pretty cool stuff on the site like information on diet, nutrition, health, wellness, and more. And if you’ve heard of that then you’ve certainly heard of Livestrong.org, which is the website for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).

Now we’ve all seen the yellow everywhere (it’s good to not live under rocks, right?), of course. And I, maybe just like you, knew maybe just enough to know what LAF does, but not much detail. Maybe you know more, which is good.

But there is one thing I’m betting we all know, and that’s someone who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And the moment that happens, it’s like we cannot know enough. That might be my favorite thing about LAF, the information they make available to people who need it.

In the last three years of blogging, I can’t think of one fellow blogger or reader who hasn’t had a cancer diagnosis affect their life.  Three years, dozens of people, all of us knowing what it’s like to have cancer come along and change life as we know it.

So, the Giveaway Rules:

1- Leave a comment on this post between now and January 31st (please only comment once). Very simple, right?

2- On January 31st, I will randomly draw a name from all of the comments.

3- The name drawn will then get his or her choice of a piece of Livestrong merchandise in any amount up to $50. (Ohh, go look. Shopping!)  (Ohh, really, go look. All sales revenue goes directly to the foundation. People, they are having a SALE.) (I can ship internationally, no problem.)

4- I will match that $50 merchandise purchase in the form of a donation.

5- Bonus round:  If you want to donate in any amount, just because ($5, $10, your old socks), I will also match that donation. (But we’ll probably toss the socks.)

Don’t worry, I don’t mind going broke. My bank knows that by now.

Three years ago, I was just starting this blog, totally unaware of the people and stories and ideas I’d encounter, just by writing on the Internet.  I’m constantly amazed at how unique yet connected all of us are, and at how much I’ve learned, and for that I only have you to thank. Thanks for reading, thanks for sharing, and thanks for being here so that I can even have a giveaway.

Here’s to health, and who knows, maybe three more years.