The End of (this) Road

So here we are at the end of the rainbow- ok, not really a rainbow, more like a really long road trip. We had our last event yesterday at a local mall and made use of the slow times to get a lot of end-of-tour tasks checked off, like cleaning and inventory. We took this group photo yesterday, which was actually the first one we'd taken with everyone in it.

Tomorrow morning my flight leaves for Michigan where i'll spend a couple days before heading back to Chicago Wednesday morning.

It seems like I should have some eloquent and illuminating closing thoughts. I don't know about eloquent or illuminating, but here's a few possibly interesting end-of-tour musings:

My family is more intact than I thought. Here's why I say that- despite the conservatism of my teammates, and the bible reading and the jesus music listening and the no swearing (though in the past couple weeks there have been a handful of swear words that were not uttered by me, hallelujah), it turns out they all come from sadly fractured homes. Rasheedah never knew her father and has been estranged from her schizophrenic mother for five years. Nick hardly speaks to his Dad, hates his stepfather and has a whole host of stepsiblings he dislikes. Kim's brother committed suicide two years ago.

It doesn't make me feel superior, more like surprised. You'd think after a couple of divorces, detestable and slimy ex- step-family members and a law-breaking older brother I'd be right up there in the "crazy family" club but I talk to my parents and brothers all the time, and see them, and email and text message them. We are together for all major holidays and often birthdays, and we often hang out with each other just because we like to. I like both my step-parents (the slimy ones are gone). And there are two super cute nieces the whole family adores and dotes on.

Obviously, I am lucky.

I have a lot of stuff. The second photo above is all things I've collected while out on the road. Yes, seriously! A lot of it was free, like Komen t-shirts hats and mouse pads, and gifts from the Fond-du-Lac Indian reservation, but I bought a lot too. So much so that I had to buy an extra duffel to get it all home! (Duffel not pictured)

I have discovered the divinity of Luna. No, this is not a new religion, it is a fabulous nutrition bar for women that actually tastes good and has lots of nutrients. It didn't take too long to learn that subsisting on snack food and Applebee's wasn't giving me a lot of energy, so I started buying Luna bars about 6 weeks ago and they have been lifesavers. I highly recommend them, especially the peanut butter cookie and lemon zest varieties. I will continue to buy and consume these when I get home from the tour; it's such a better on-the-go snack than pretzels or crackers.

I love Chicago. Before being called out for this tour, and especially after my camp documentary evaporated into thin air, I was feeling very restless and very seriously looking into moving out West. While I won't be surprised if I make that move happen eventually, for now I am missing my windy city and my friends and Lake Michigan in a bad way. Being away for two solid months has made me appreciate much more everything Chicago has to offer and I plan on soaking it up blissfully when I return.

I miss camp. Komen on the Go has functioned partly as the world's best distraction from the fact that my camp documentary no longer exists, but in quiet times, like riding in the van or at night in my hotel room, I think about camp and wonder whats going on in Mukwonago and if I'll ever have the chance to go back. And I think probably not. And I am still mourning that fact.

Breast cancer is everywhere; no one is safe. I mean this. It didn't matter where we went, or how many people there were, or how old the people were. Breast cancer survivors found us everywhere. So did the family members of the women who weren't so lucky. We met women who were diagnosed at 19, and children whose mothers had died of it, and ladies who were in their eighties and had fought it (and won) multiple times. There were definitely times when it was hard to hear the same type of stories over and over, but not a single day passed where I questioned the validity of devoting my time and energy to this work. It is amazing to wonder how many lives we may have helped save just by showing up with a big pink truck and showing women how to do a self-exam.

I like my teammates. Even if I don't have much in common with some of them, I respect them all and for the most part enjoy their company and am glad to call them friends. I remember a similar feeling when AmeriCorps ended; my team had been together ten months and I spent much of that time strongly disliking a few. But at the end, on that first night home, I was so sad to not be in their company. Even if we don't get along all the time, these long-term live together/eat together/work together/hang out together experiences sure create some strong bonds. And I like that. In a way it feels like we all fought a battle together, and won.

I am so glad and grateful I was given the surprise opportunity to hit the road with Komen on the Go back at the beginning of May. It has been hard, and grueling, and amazing and fabulous all at the same time. I will miss it. There's a chance I may get to come back when the tour heads out again in the fall, have I told you that?

In the meantime, I think I will keep this blog and update about regular life things now that the tour is done. I kind of like being a blogger. Maybe one day soon I'll get a little more ambitious with the writing and subject matter in this space. Thanks for reading along through the KOTG tour, and I hope you stick around :)