I got a message from a neighbor, Sarah Froberg that she was dedicating her run this year with the St Jude Mackinaw runners to Summer’s honor. That was pretty cool… But I know very little about it so the context is a bit lost on me. She then added me to a group chat with another runner, Janet who is part of the organizing of the event. Janet and I talked a little bit tonight and she told me that the Mackinaw to Peoria organization will be dedicating a length of the run to Summer as a team. See the image below… They will be running the whole length of Route 9 from Mackinaw to Springfield Rd outside of Tremont. The area in the map below between Schmidgall Road to Ropp Lane will be for Summer. We are welcome to stand by at Schmidgall and cheer on the runners as they enter her section.
The run is Saturday, August 5th. The festivities start at 7 AM (I think!) at the Heritage Lake Bank. I will share more info as I get it.
One of the things that Janet asked me tonight when we talked was about some of Summer’s favorite songs. Energetic ones especially. They run with an Amazon playlist and would add a song or songs that were special to Summer.
My mind went sideways and I started talking about how her cancer started taking her love of music. I was talking about headphones and concerts and I was seriously out of focus. Thankfully I couldn’t think of a song, so I said I would think about it and get back to her.
I texted Nate and he had 2 quick answers… Some Foster the People songs. Genius. He always knows the answers to questions like this.
I had another couple that popped into my head as well. But when I listened to the Pup songs that are a bit like anthems… I didn’t think they would vibe well with the runners! Little too punky!
I told Janet on the phone today that our introduction and exit from St Jude happened over the span of 1 year. Not even. I could probably look back on the blog posts and tell you the exact days. I knew long before our time with the organization that people donate to St Jude… They walk, run, swim or bike for St. Jude all around central Illinois. I never understood it… But I get it now. It’s amazing to see folks like Sarah and Janet doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They have not had cancer in their houses… But they know people who have, and that is enough to organize and give a lot of their time.
If you want to donate to the run… I have a link here.
Mackinaw to Peoria St Jude Run
Summer’s birthday is this weekend (Sunday). When we talked about it at the visitation and funeral weekend… We made some verbal plans to run to Michigan or something that weekend. 
Michigan rates and availability are nuts… So, that took our heads out of the game. It’s just as well. Being away from home is not the best plan of attack right now. We have spent the last week trying to get La Finca back in order after taking a year off from yard work. The yard is coming around… But unfortunately, I think house paint is on the agenda… Ugh. Angela was power washing the deck and you can see where the wood trim around our siding is popping nails and peeling paint… Sorry… Sidetrack.
So, we are going to stay close to home and do a little Mackinaw River kayaking on Sunday.
I invited the Nates… Hopefully, we will have a full flotilla!
I have a post started about the visitation and funeral. I swear… It could be 5000 words long. So, I sit on the outline and think about what I do and don’t want to say.