Three Cool Things For Summer

Since it’s the middle of the summer and it’s hot everywhere, I figured I needed something cool for my blog today. So, I have details about a cool fundraiser we’re doing in October, a cool story about Jack from Tiff and a cool video of Jack from last week.

First, just in case you’ve never been here before, Click here to see why I’m running 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m through 37. I mention Tiff and Jack in this blog a fair amount. Tiff is my wife of the past 11 years and Jack is my middle child. He’s 6 1/2 and severely autistic.

We’re Having A Really Cool Fundraiser In St. Louis October 2!
On October 2 at a sports bar called Hot Shots in St. Louis suburb Fenton, at least two members of the St. Louis Cardinals will be signing autographs as part of an Operation Jack fundraiser. Second baseman Skip Schumaker and starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will both be there. More players could be announced at a later date.

Schumaker was 10th in the National League in batting in 2008 and has finished with a batting average above .300 in each of the past three seasons. Wainwright finished second in the National League Cy Young voting last year and is a leading candidate for the award again this year. We’ll be pre-selling autograph tickets in about a week. We’re still finalizing details on pricing.

In addition to the players signing autographs, there will also be a soft-tip darts tournament and Wii home run derby with prizes and proceeds going to Operation Jack, 50/50 raffles, a silent auction, plus a donation table that will get patrons wristbands good for discounted food and drinks.

Most of you aren’t in the St. Louis area. But if you are, or if you’re like me and heading into town to run the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Louis suburb St. Charles, you should stop by because it’s going to be a great time. I have to say, I’m pretty grateful for the efforts of the players and the management at Hot Shots because this is really going to be huge for Operation Jack.

For details about the event, head to operationjack.org/cardinals.

Here’s A Cool Story From Tiff
I was running on the treadmill at the gym on Saturday when I was distracted by a text that came in on my phone. As I read the text, a huge smile came across my face and my pace got a little faster. It was from Cassie, Jack’s aide. She was telling me that Jack was in a good mood … until I walked out the front door and closed it behind me. Once I left, he got really upset. I quickly texted her saying I’d be home right away.

When I returned home and walked in the front door, Jack was there to greet me with a huge smile on his face. He grabbed my arm and led me upstairs to my room. As I stood there, he ran down the hallway to his room, grabbed his teddy bear and Curious George monkey, raced back down the hallway to my room, crawled into my bed and just stared at me, locking his eyes with mine. I said,”Hi Jack!” He said,”Hi Daddy.” For once, I looked past him calling me daddy. This was a special moment between us. As I leaned down to give him a kiss, he put his arm around my neck and wouldn’t let go. He also didn’t let go of the smile that was on his face from the minute I had walked through the door. He stared at me, his teddy bear and his monkey and just kept on smiling.

After about 15 minutes of laying there with him, we left my room and headed downstairs. For about 30 minutes, Jack followed me everywhere around the house. I found out from Cassie that the entire time I was gone, Jack was sad and cranky. She said that as soon as I came home, it was like day and night with his moods. For the first time, I felt like Jack actually noticed his mommy being gone. And for the first time, I felt like he really missed me. He’s come a lone way since the day the neurologist told Sam and I that if we were to leave a room for two days, he wouldn’t even notice!

Cool Video Of Jack
What can I say? He likes the Wizard of Oz right now … I guess he knows I went to college in Kansas?

OK, that’s all for today. I have a fun announcement for tomorrow. Have a great Wednesday, everybody!