Proud.

I pondered last year as I raised money, trained and walked, that among the positives (they're all positives) of walking in the 3-Day to fight breast cancer is the fact that Bean and Peabody will see me doing something proactive and selfless - working hard and giving of myself to help other people. It's a behavior I for sure want to model for them, this being ABOUT something outside my own four walls.

Today Bean and two of her BFFs who are the daughters of my friend and neighbor and 3-Day teammate decided that they wanted to have a lemonade stand. In the flurry of preparation, they were in and out of the house about a million times, back door slamming, THUNK, THUNK, THUNK behind them. Cups, table, cash register, pitchers, change, napkins, chairs, all set up with Al's help. On one of Bean's final trips in, she stopped at the kitchen counter, propped her chin in her elbows and stood there, breathing hard with excitement and effort, and she said, "MOM! We're gonna have a lemonade stand. And we're gonna give the money to you for the breast cancer walk."

And those little girls stayed out there in the heat for THREE HOURS and they raised $25, which they turned over to me, and I quickly turned over to The 3-Day, with a happy, proud lump in my throat.