a little shout out: volume 3

It's not really a secret in my family that I am neither coordinated, nor graceful. My brothers don't hesitate to remind me of this, by making me demonstrate my less-than-stellar jumping abilities, or reminding me of particularly awkward splats I've taken in field hockey or frisbee. I've been known to do things like trip and smash my ipod while running, bang my dad's car into the garage at age 17, and even fall off my bike and crush my own body.

Well, this week's shout out goes to Mom and Dad Gott--who probably listen to me talk about running more than anyone else, but never stop listening (and at least feigning interest). When I was moaning and groaning to them while driving to my track workout this week, their response was:

mom- "You're going to TRACK?"
dad- "Be careful."
mom-"Yeah, be careful honey....don't hurt yourself."
dad-"Yeah, wear your helmet".

You may laugh at my Dad's seeming exaggeration. But last year for Christmas, my family 'lovingly' gave me a helmet to be used for any and all athletic activities. Lucky for my running buddies in Boston, I choose not to break it out in public :)

But in all seriousness, I am lucky to have such a great team backing me up. I can't think of anyone that is more interested, more supportive, more excited, and more encouraging than my parents...and I CANT WAIT for them to be down here for Marathon Monday. And for all of you coming to Dancing for a Cure next week, keep your eyes peeled: Debbie and Ed might make a guest appearance (though hopefully not in a santa hat, a nightgown, or a bike helmet)!

Team Gott, spring 2008.
Ed, Debbie, Betsy, Ted (24), and Tom (21)

a little shout out: volumes 1 and 2

After reaching the halfway point in my fund raising last week, I decided I should pay a little more lip service to the people that are behind all these miles I'm putting on my legs. So every once in awhile I'll include little "shout outs" to special people that did some big--or small--thing to motivate me or help my cause.

My first shout out goes to my Aunt Lauree and the Veazie Community School in Veazie, Maine! Lauree is Aunt Karen's younger sister, and is a middle school teacher in Maine. She has been so incredibly helpful in my fund raising process. She spread the word around her school in Maine, and rallied a huge amount of donations from people that know our family and that have a stake in cancer research! (She's also the best homemade pizza chef I've ever met).

My second shout out goes to my students at the Boston Renaissance Charter School. My co-teacher Carrie and I have been doing a poetry unit with our 3rd graders, focusing on grammar and parts of speech. This week we learned how to write a "setting poem", describing the nouns and verbs in a particular place that is special to the author. My students helped me write a setting poem about The Boston Marathon:

The Boston Marathon

At the Boston Marathon, the runners race,
The crowds cheer,
The feet stomp,
The hands clap,
And the voices yell.

The legs work,
The arms pump,
The lungs breathe,
The brains concentrate,
And the runners celebrate,
At the Boston Marathon!

So for all your DFMCers out there, you have a classroom full of Boston 3rd graders cheering for you, even though you don't know it :)