Life is Good.

I'm getting that feeling again. It's that feeling I get after a fundraiser for The SAMFund. It's excitement that I cannot contain. You probably saw my insane amount of posts for The SAMFund today for our Giving Common Challenge, and I am so thankful to absolutely everyone that donated. As you all know, I am so passionate about The SAMFund, ya know, they did change my life....  

So anyways, I stopped in to Starbucks tonight to do some work, but instead I find myself glued to writing this blog right now. I got a special email this morning from someone very close to The SAMFund- Sam's dad, Glenn. I saw it and immediately got a little emotional. He said that he was very touched by my story, which was just so nice to hear. I know some survivors may be shy about their story- and that's ok. But I know that I am here to share mine with others in hopes to inspire someone out there. But, back to Glenn... he was saying how he was so touched by my story.. and I'm thinking about how touched I am that he reached out to me. You know, he only raised and brought into this world my biggest mentor, Sam. It was just a really nice email. It made me so happy. You can obviously see where Sam got her kindness from :) I would like to quote part of the email, "Kate. Young people like you remind me daily why it is so important to help others when you can. Thank you. GLENN."

For me, it ties everything into what we've been working on for The SAMFund these past 36 hours. After getting my grant from The SAMFund, I was reminded why it is so important to give back. I don't do it because it makes me feel good inside, I do it because I know the difference it can make in someone's life. I know that because of the difference it made in my life. Am I getting a bit redundant here? Cheesy, yes? Well, I can't help it. For the past few years of my adult-hood, or I guess, those couple years I had before cancer, I always wondered what I would do with my life. I changed my mind on a weekly basis. I never knew for certain. Now, I can say that this is what I want to do. This is so fulfilling, and emails like the one I received today from Glen reassure me that I am inspiring somebody out there in this universe. To inspire somebody is such a great thing, and if I can take anything positive away from my experience with cancer, it would be that I get to help inspire others with my own story.

Glenn, your email was so kind, and made my day- actually, no, it made my week. Thank you for your kind words, and, to quote a portion of the email that I wrote: " if it wasn't for your amazing daughter, I might never have had such a life-changing experience :) ."

-k