Please Join Me on Team "I Can Do Hard Things" in Memory of Nikki Reed
Nikki and I ran the Queen City Road Race in Clarksville, TN, when we were 7. (Well, the 1-mile version of it anyway.) Now I’m doing the National Brain Tumor Society’s “Race for Hope” 5K in her memory in hopes of changing the outcome of a glioblastoma diagnosis for others.
I met my "kindergarten bestie" when we lived in the same neighborhood at Ft. Campbell on the Kentucky/Tennessee state line. How lucky I am to have had a friend in my life from the time I was 5! Not many adults can say that and even fewer who grew up in military families. We were in the same class in kindergarten and first grade. I recall other classmates and kids in the neighborhood, but I loved Nikki. She is so central to my memories of those years that she might as well be in all of them. We were the late-GenX/early-millennial "wild" children, who ran through the woods unsupervised, climbed trees dangerously high, played on playgrounds deemed "not safe" by today's standards, drank from garden hoses, and only sometimes wore shoes. Both of our families moved away after first grade, but we kept in touch year after year after year through letters and packages in the mail and then email and more recently social media and texting. Even though we didn't see each other in person much over the years, when we did, we always picked up where we left off, sharing memories good and bad, bonding over the particular stresses of growing up a military kid, laughing about inside jokes from childhood, and spilling our hearts as we entered new life phases. I feel so fortunate that I got to spend two weeks with her this past summer. My life is so much the better for having had Nikki as my life-long friend, and the hole in my heart right now is very wide.
Let’s “Race for Hope” and change the story for other lifelong friends. A donation of any amount is much appreciated. DC-area friends, I’d love for you to join me in person on team “I Can Do Hard Things” on 5/5!
National Brain Tumor Society is fiercely committed to finding a cure for brain tumors. They are aggressively driving strategic research; advocating for public policies that meet the critical needs of the brain tumor community; and providing comprehensive patient, family and caregiver resources. Your support ensures this important work will continue.
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