Luckylittlelady’s Weblog

 This was my horoscope for Saturday…

“You are going through a phase of deep thinking that should result in some fairly interesting new ideas. Don’t worry about whether or not they lead anywhere — the journey as important as the destination.”

 I read this quicky while throwing on my yoga pants, two layers of long-sleeved t-shirts, running shoes and my down vest (which my friend asked me if I had recently revisted the 80′s after she saw me–thanks Becs) to run out the door and drive down to UW main campus for the Autism Walk.  Stopping through a starbucks drive-thru along the way, I had to ask myself in what way or where my daily horoscope would fit into my life–if at all–today. 

 The main reason I signed up to do this walk today is of course for the many children that I have worked with that have Autism that have deeply touched my heart and one child in particular, Chanel, that I used to babysit when she was about 8.  Her father is a former pro baseball player and I had the pleasure of meeting her and her family when they began looking for a babysitter many years ago  When I first met Chanel, I was immediately struck by her charm and warmth.  We got along great from the beginning and I just thought she was so special.  All the time that I spent with her, I was consistently amazed by her intelligence and her sense of humor.  She was very special.

 I had never participated in the Autism walk before and really didn’t know what to expect.  I walked in the indoor soccer arena and was astonished by all the teams that were there to walk for their child/friend with Autism.  I had overheard that the previous year had about half of the people that were present this year.  This was awesome to see.  There were happy children running all over the arena and everyone was wearing their new blue t-shirts in support of Autism. 

Eventually, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Chanel and her parents for the first time in about 8 years.  Chanel has grown up into a lovely teenager and I could not believe how much she had changed.  She was so well spoken, polite and has an incredibly bright smile!  It was so great to see her and her family.  But as I was looking around, I was thinking that it was amazing to think how much awareness for this disability has grown, just since last year! 

I was blessed enough to raise about $600 for this event and I couldn’t have been more touched by all the donations I received from friends and family.  I was also able to meet some of the pioneers of this event.  They began this out of sheer passion for a cure and they began at the bottom and worked their way to where they are now.  The support is growing and growing. 

So, I suppose that this is some of the deep thinking that I was lead in to from my daily horoscope.  People can produce amazing results and their efforts pay off in many, many ways.  Their thinking and their efforts have led them somewhere, but they are by no means to the end of their journey.  They will keep trying in the hopes that next years walk will break all records from this year.  This is an ongoing journey and I find so much inspiration from people that turn their small thoughts into big changes. 

 Many, many thanks to all those who donated!  It was a touching, memorable experience and I will be looking to raise more money and get more people involved for next year!