Dragon Boat

I'm on the board of Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation. I may be the only person on the board, living in Richmond, who has ever done an athletic activity ever. I got volunteered. Volunteered, which I am here to tell you, is ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY a word. Cuz it happened to me. Not just to be ON the Dragon Boat but to be Captain of the MFing (or should that be FMing) DB. Meaning that to make this a livable experience for me, I had to convince friends of mine to come spend their hard earned cash and spend there well-deserved weekend day in a tent down by the river, which I'm guessing is only marginally above a van down by the river. But convince them I did. If you're reading this and you did not row with me today, there will be a reckoning called 2011. If you're reading this and you DID row today, I'm afraid there will be a reckoning and I have no idea what it is, but I'm sorry and didn't we have a good time and I know you can't move, neither can I and it's really gonna hurt tomorrow, isn't it, and despite wearing bike pants to save my ass today, there is now a 5 inch blister on my ass where there was a 3 inch blister this morning. I'm an ACCOUNTANT. I freaking sit for a living!!!!! FUCK. Muffins.

OK, I feel better now.

Seriously, we raised money for a great charity and 12 of my dear friends & I had a great time and Annnnn and Thomas and Lauren and Harrison and Mom and J9 and Linus came to support us. And 5 of my friends manned the beer tent - if you don't think that's a great idea I didn't see coming, then you really need to think again. AND AND AND we had a great time.

We rowed too well in our first race which placed us in the B division instead of C where we really belonged, so we got blown out in our next two races, but that's OK. We participated in a breast cancer remembrance ceremony which was really cool and reduced me to tears. It was an honor to row Survivors around - very empowering.

So, next year I really do need 25 dear friends to sign up for this: 20 rowers at a time, 1 drummer (preferably someone under 300 pounds who understands the purpose of the task and has just a bit of rhythm), 4 alternates. We had a really good time, though I'm not pleased with the soreness/blister - if we practiced 2x beforehand, I feel we'd have been less sore.

So tomorrow it's major yard construction on a water feature for friends, visiting friends in the hospital who have welcomed baby David today, a viewing for a dear friend's husband who passed away Wednesday morning, and an evening of babysitting our favorite baby, Linus. I can't hardly wait until Monday so I can get some rest.

This post wouldn't be complete without reporting that one thing the Dragon Boat took away from us today was the ability to be with Low Rider in DC for her Dad's funeral. We were with you in spirit and when I tossed my pink carnation in the river today in memory of breast cancer victims, I thought of you and your Dad in addition to BC victims. We love you, Deb, and we miss you here at home. Wish we'd been there for you today.