The Gift

As I mentioned before, at the Pit Stops and the cheering stations along the way, we often were given stickers or candy or gum or other trinkets. One of the most popular things is strings of brightly colored beads – pink, green, purple, orange, gold and others. You can see them around my neck in the picture with the SJ Bike Cops. By midday on Sunday, I had 8 or 9 of them around my neck.

Sunday afternoon we walked around SF, up hills, around corners, all over the city. When I went around one of the corners, there was an elderly lady sitting on the windowsill of one of the storefronts. She was a bit winded, resting on the sill and leaning on her walker. As I walked past I heard her say, “Can I have one of your necklaces?” I stopped and walked back to her. She repeated, “Can I have one of your necklaces?” “Which one would you like, dear?” I asked. “Which one would you like to give me?” she replied. “Well let’s see,” I said as I leaned forward, “Which one matches your outfit?” She was wearing a gold shirt so I removed a gold necklace from my neck. “How about this one? It goes with the shirt you’re wearing,” and I put it over her head and settled it against her chest. She looked up and smiled and said, “Thank you, dear, and God bless you.” I gave her a smile, patted her hand and continued on my journey.

Later that day, while sitting and resting in the holding area, I thought about that gift, the gift she gave me.

I was hurting Friday night and when I was talking with Dave, I desperately wanted to ask him to come and get me. I didn’t, knowing that he woke up so early to drop me at Cow Palace then drove all the way to Soquel and worked all day long. I couldn’t ask him to drive all the way SF. I was so glad I made that choice. About 5 miles into Saturday's walk, the pain in my hip was gone and it never showed up again. If I had gone home, I would have missed the rest of the weekend. What a loss!

By Sunday afternoon, I was tired and I was dragging a bit but I was doing great. I had no blisters. I had no pain to speak of. Here is this lady, elderly, using a walker just to get around. She had to stop there and rest on the windowsill and catch her breath so she could continue on. I have no idea how long she had been sitting there, watching us walkers going by, or what was her final destination. It really doesn’t matter though…

She was there to remind me that though I was tired and sweaty and I’d been walking for days, I was able to do it. I had the ability to walk, to go where I wanted to without a walker, without pain. I could make the choice; I could make a difference in the lives of others.

That brief encounter with this lovely lady reminded me that my tired muscles and weary body were a blessing. What a gift she gave me!

This is the thought that gave me the power to get up and stand in the receiving line, to cheer and dance and yell. The gift she’d given to me I was now giving to others.