Keeping it all in perspective

In the very short time I have been working on this campaign, I have been caught up in the excitement of meeting new people and garnering support for my run from folks all over town. As is often the case, however, the world has a way of reminding us what is really important in our lives.

Yesterday afternoon a very dear friend of mine, and a new daddy for the third time just weeks ago, told me he is being redeployed to Iraq in the fall. While I am comforted by the knowledge that he is more than capable of taking care of himself over there, I am deeply saddened by the fact that he has to be away from the family he loves so much, and in harm’s way, for so long.

Then we get the news out of Haiti where some 3 million people have been affected by a devastating quake, and thousands are feared to be dead or will die as a result. We have the luxury of living in a relatively quiet part of the world and it is hard for us to imagine what devastation on this level would be like. Whenever we hear about victims of house fires or the like, folks around here are often comforted by the fact that their possessions can be replaced and their lives will eventually be returned to normal; for the majority of the people in Haiti affected by this quake, the reality is that neither is likely to be possible for them.

Today, please keep our deployed men and women, and the people of Haiti in your thoughts.