A Thousand Times No

From no posts in two months to two posts in a single day, and for the saddest of reasons:  After a long and hard-fought battle with cancer that stretched out over several years, Susan Nelson, the inspiration for Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan, passed away tonight.

Through his blog at FatCyclist.com, Susan’s husband Elden has been able to raise cancer awareness around the world and mobilize a team of participants in the 2009 Livestrong Challenge to raise over a half-million dollars to date.

And we’re not done.  Not even close.

Can blogging change the world?  Absolutely.  Can my blogging change the world?

After repeated requests here for readers to donate to support my participation in the Livestrong Challenge, I have yet to receive a single donation from any readers here.

So I hope you understand why I’ve been away.

I say this not because I’m upset or angry with any of you, but because I committed quite some time ago to dig in and help spur Team Fatty forward. I will do everything I can and must do in order to get myself and others up and over the top of this long, sometimes painfully steep climb.

At a certain point, words become just so much air.  I have needed to be out in the world, where I am needed. Because I wanted to Fight Like Susan.

Tonight of all nights, I don’t regret for even a fraction of an instant that I have been doing exactly that.

Wow, several months flew by in what seems like a blink of an eye.

I’m doing fine.  As one of my friends commented recently, “Not losing is the new winning,” and I haven’t lost my job, my home, my health, or my mind.  In fact, my absence here is a reflection of having more irons in the fire than I can easily juggle.

The arc of my summer is being shaped by one really important project, namely Team Fat Cyclist: Fighting for Susan.  If you haven’t heard about us yet, trust me, you will. We’re large and in charge, and yes, we feel like a million bucks.

I’ll also be participating in my first triathlon this weekend, so my gear purchasing has gone off the deep end.  Some things never change.

My two cats got into an epic catfight with each other late this spring, and they needed to separated for over a month.  (Thank you, friend of my housemate, who came to stay for several days while trailing who-only-knows-what from an eight-cat household with an unneutered tomcat.  Thanks, too, for always managing to leave the toilet seat cover up.)  Fortunately, things have calmed down and returned to normal, just in time for Alpha Cat and Cat the Second to lie around in dazes from the summer heat.

And oh, it’s my blogiversary today.  Now we are three!