Nicholas Robless is a young man of his word.
He said he was going to raise $3000 for children with muscular dystrophy so they too could go to MDA camp this summer, and boy howdy did he!
In fact, Nicholas and his team, The Soldiers of MDA, raised over $5000 by participating in the MDA Ride & Stride in Overland Park this past weekend.
At a cost of $600 per child, eight or maybe even nine kids will have “the funnest week ever” as I heard one little boy describe his camp experience.
Congratulations Nicholas…
You are one awesome kid!
Let me first go on record and say, “I am half-assed”.
My mother used to call me the “half-assed kid”.
If there is an easy way to do it, believe me, I find it.
So it comes as no surprise that at least one of our kids takes after me.
This fact is the very bain of Mike’s existence.
“Mr. Focus, finish, follow-through” is exasperated by us half-ass types.
We really piss him off.
He has long ago given up on me, (As Popeye wisely says, “I am what I am”) but he continues to hold out hope for Nicholas to change his lazy-ass ways.
False hope is my guess.
Yesterday, Mike came home and immediately noticed something that I too had seen a few hours earlier.
Because of my half-assed nature, I simply thought to myself, “Hmmm, that’s gonna piss Mikey off” and went on about my day.
Tucker, (rhymes with) apparently shares the same half-assedness gene that Nick and I have been blessed with.
He has recently stopped “doing his business” in the yard.
Perhaps the grass tickles his feet, I don’t pretend to know, but whatever the reason, the dog is now taking a King sized crap right on the patio!
Stop for a moment and just try to imagine Mike’s reaction to this little ditty, (doodie?).
The whole house shook as he yelled, “NICHOLAS… “Get a plastic bag and get that crap off my patio, NOW.”
The kid’s take turns each week with dog duty/(doodie) and this week is Nicks.
Something tells me next week will be his too now.
A few minutes later, we see Nick putting “the plastic bag” into our kitchen trash can.
In Mikey’s big boy voice, I hear not just “No”, but “Hell No! What are you thinking, putting a bag of dog crap in the trash INSIDE the house?”
Looking at Mike like he’s got two heads, Nicholas says “it’s just an empty bag”, (as in “Chill dude”).
“Why is it empty Nick, where is the dog crap?” (A logical question by Mike I’m thinking at the time.)
“I moved it”.
Oh boy.
This is gonna get ugly.
“Moved it?”
“Moved it where?”
Being half-assed myself, I knew where this was going.
At this point, I’m willing Nick with all I’ve got NOT to say what I think he’s getting ready to say.Even I, the Queen of half-ass, could never reach this level of half-assedness.
“I moved it onto the grass” said the boy formerly known as Mike’s son.
Stunned silence followed.
Albeit momentarily.
The rest of the story is somewhat of a blur.
Suffice it to say, “The shit hit the fan”.
The backyard is so clean right now you could eat off of it.
I just feel sorry for the trash men tomorrow…
They’ll be pulling “double doodie”!!!
As for Nicky…he is what he is!
From the perspective of pure caloric intake, this weekend was off the charts!
It began Friday night in Tonganoxie Kansas of all places, with what I had understood was to be a crab boil.
But when we got there, Bubba, who had flown in a couple of dozen fresh Dungeness crabs from Oregon, had decided to prepare them the way he used to eat them as a boy growing up in Washington state.
The guys set up the kitchen table much like they would a workbench out in the shop.
There was every variety of pliers laid out you can think of, several brands of whiskey, beer and of course wine for us gals.
This was a serious crab shucking operation!
As pound after pound of sweet, succulent crab meat was extracted from the crunchy critters, Bubba would assemble what I can only describe as Dungeness Decadence.
Stay with me here and visualize…inhale…dream and drool!
He started with fresh sourdough bread, sliced thick and slathered with garlic butter on both sides.
To that he added a generous pile of crab.
A layer of shredded mozzarella and Cojack was the crowning touch on these culinary delights.
In a piping hot oven, they bubbled, sizzled and smelled like pure pacific ecstasy.
We ate them as fast as he cooked them, never once bothering with any of the side dishes Robin and I had prepared.
A huge, fresh salad was left untouched as if to say, “Go ahead, live large tonight fat asses, you’ll be begging for me tomorrow”.
I think it was on my third bite or so that I actually had a heart cramp.
I paused momentarily, it passed, and I figured “Hmmm, not a bad way to go”!
Good friends, good eats, Good God, did we eat!
The gluttony continued into Saturday with Mike breaking out his mad baking skills (which none of us knew he had!)
A longtime “foodie”, Mike cooks us incredible meals on a regular basis.
He fears no ingredient and I’m convinced the only thing standing between him and greatness is our lousy electric cook top.
But he’s never baked.
Until now.
“Beatty’s Chocolate Cake” which he watched the Barefoot Contessa bake that morning on the food network was his inspiration.
Although “melt-in-your-mouth goodness” was the result, my hope is that he got the “baking bug” out of his system for good.
Let’s call it what it is.
Spring friggin broke.
It’s day One of Spring break and so far I’m down:
2 trips to the bagel shop for breakfast.
2 movie tickets and cash for crap.
3 roundtrips to the same kids’ house. (Note to self…low fuel light on)
1 Pizza to feed my kids plus one extra.
1 $20 co-payment for emergency trip to shrink (Goal: coping strategies for the next 10 days)
Spring Break?
The only thing “breaking” around here is my wallet.
Ka-ching!
Last October, many of you answered the call and opened your hearts and wallets to support my friend Maureen.
With our help, Mo was able to reach her lofty goal of raising $2200 to help find a cure for breast cancer by participating in the Dallas/Ft Worth 3-Day Walk.
It was one of her proudest accomplishments and a truly life changing experience.
We were thrilled when Mo, Gus and their boys stayed over night with us this past Thanksgiving.
It gave us time to catch up and reflect on our crazy lives.
With great emotion, Mo shared with us her experience on the walk which kicked off in a “Big Texas" way at Texas Stadium among thousands of other optimistic walkers.
She shared countless, incredible stories she had heard and often times witnessed along the trail and in the tents late at night as they rested their weary feet.
All this built up to the highly emotional closing ceremony held at the Fort Worth Stock Yards where there wasn’t a dry eye in the house (coral?).
When I asked Mo if she was going to walk again in 2007, she hesitated before answering.
She’d love to, she explained, but she is out of her comfort zone when asking for donations.
Fundraising for Mo it seems, was more difficult than the 60 mile walk itself!
My response to Maureen was simple and simply put.
“You gave US an “opportunity” to help a great cause.
Period.
We all have our favorite charities.
Finding a cure for breast cancer is obviously near and dear to my heart.
We all wish we could give to everyone in need.
But the truth of the matter is we can only stretch a buck so far.
So we pick and choose our charities wisely.
Now here’s the segue… (You knew I had to be going somewhere with all this!)
I present to you, a new (and wise!) “Opportunity”!
Below is a letter from our friend Nicholas Robless.
Please read on:My name is Nicholas Robless and I have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It weakens my muscles over time and because of that, I am now needing a wheelchair to get around. I am a fifth grader at Manchester Park Elementary. I love school, computer games, Playstation games and music! I recently started playing the clarinet in the school band…I enjoy it a lot.
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) has done so much for children like me and families like ours. Most importantly, MDA gives us all hope by not giving up on finding a cure. For me, one of the most incredible things about MDA is its summer camp! Each year, I look forward to being just a “regular kid” at camp (I’ve been going to camp since I was six!)…we get to swim, ride horses, fish, dance, play games, participate in talent shows and just have lots of fun with good friends.
This year, I am so proud to be one of the Team Captains for the 2007 MDA Stride & Ride in Overland Park. My goal is to raise $3000 for MDA, and I know I can only do this with all of your help as Team Members and sponsors. For every $600 raised, we will be able to send a kid to Summer Camp…I’m hopeful that as “Soldiers of MDA” (yes, that’s the name of our Team!), we will be able to send five kids to camp this year! As Team Members, I ask that you set your personal goal and then, in the next few days ask your families, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to help sponsor your walk and help you reach your goal. I know you can do it!
I really appreciate your kindness and generosity, and would like to thank you in advance for joining me in this special event. Just remember that it could be your dollar that helps MDA find a cure! Hope to see you all on March 24, “Soldiers.”
Your Team Captain,Nicholas
Mike, Jordan, Nicky and I are “On the team”!
We will walk next Saturday and raise funds for the campers.
We would love, if you have any more stretch left in your buck, to give you the opportunity to help us.
“Many hands make light work” Mike’s grandma used to say.
And many small donations can send a kid to camp!
Checks can be made payable to MDA and mailed to 21217 W. 96th Terrace, Lenexa, KS 66220 in care of Nicholas Robless, Team Captain.
Upon request, you will be mailed an MDA Tax Deductible receipt or your cancelled check can serve the same purpose.
As with Maureen, Nicholas did not ask me to share his letter on my blog.
But I like to share a good “Opportunity” when I see one!
Chris
PS. Hey Mo, if you’re out there… I hope you choose to Walk again this year. I know someone who writes a blog and is obviously NOT out of her comfort zone asking for help, maybe I can put in a good word!
