This is a fun (albeit long) blog post! I get to introduce you to these AWESOME people that are on my campaign team. These people never hesitated a second when I asked them to get on board and they have given me ideas, contacts, time, shares on FB, shoutouts, but most importantly the support and encouragement I have (at sometimes desperately!) needed to take on this monumental, but hugely important campaign. So with out further ado, and in the order that I met them, here is my TEAM AWESOME!!
Wade "Pops" Upton - Of course he is on my team (and the first one I met), he's my dad! And obviously this campaign is so close and important to him too. The loss of my mother to Lymphoma was just as great, if not greater, for him. They were married for 45 years, and I promise you, you have never known a more devoted husband than my dad. He was at my mom's bedside all the way through. It was the most amazing display of spousal love that I will probably ever see. He has also been such a rock for me through all of this, and I have had my quicksand moments for sure. The only dad that I think could maybe compare is John, and I know their similarities is how John found his way into my heart in the first place. He epitomizes awesome. In the dictionary, its his picture.
Ginny Jackson - Any of you who received my letter (and especially those who know Ginny) might have noticed that Ginny Jackson was not listed as part of my Team Awesome. Ginny Andrews was, but not Ginny Jackson. Actually they are the same person, but since I have known Ginny Andrews Jackson since she was born, she will perpetually be just Ginny Andrews to me. Sorry about that Alex! So, clearly, Ginny and I go way back. To give you even more info on her name (as if this topic hasn't been covered enough), she is actually Virginia "Ginny" Andrews Jackson. Virginia coming partially from my mother, who was also Virginia, but went by Ginger. You follow? My mom and Ginny's mom were very best friends from childhood and that friendship carried on until my mother's death. That would be enough, I know, for Ginny to have jumped onto my team without even thinking, but unfortunately she has another huge connection to our effort. Her brother Will was diagnosed with Lymphoma in December of 2007. Thankfully he completed his treatment successfully and has been in remission ever since. Thank you Lord. I am hoping to feature him in my interview series later down the line so please check back for that! Back to Ginny though…She is married to Alex Jackson and they have 2 precious sons. She is also a realtor for Greenwood King and we share a love for home restoration and design.
Katherine Gring - So my mother always said that Katherine was my very first friend! We lived in the same neighborhood growing up (shout out to Briarmeadow!) and played together all of the time. Our parents all became friends as well. They eventually moved out of the neighborhood, and we grew up and went to different schools, etc. Luckily, in college one of my best friends, Marisa Underbrink, and Katherine became friends and roommates and Katherine and I were reconnected. We ended up both having our first two children around the same time and our babies played together at around the same age as Katherine and I were when we first played together. Isn't that cool? What wasn't cool was when her son George was diagnosed with Lymphoma, actually on the same day as my mom. He was only 5! Thankfully he responded like a superhero to his first protocol of chemo and he has been in remission ever since. I can't wait for y'all to hear from Mighty George later in my interview series! But clearly, this fight for funds for LLS is something Katherine and her husband Clayton are all in on!
Lori Huffman - Lori and I met in Kindergarten and have been best friends ever since. I know that sounds hokey, but it is very much the truth. We are so close that our parents actually became best friends too, and they still are. Their family is my second family and the same goes for Lori, which means when my mother died, Lori lost a mom too. She also provided such support to me during mom's illness in terms of coordinating efforts to help with the kids, with meals, and spreading the word about my mom when I just flat didn't want to talk about it. She was altogether the poster child for a best friend during this time. PS - she still is called on to help me in my weak moments that flare up every now and again. Lori and her husband Bobby have 3 wonderful kids, and she also happens to be a fundraiser by trade and is very good at it (i.e. she has no problems asking for your money so hold onto your wallets when she's around - ha!), so she was a no brainer add to this team.
John Daily - Ahh, the love of my life and the father of my 3 beautiful children. The short story is that we met when he came to St. Michael in 7th grade, but we didn't get married until we were 27. The long story involves unrequited love, stalking, familial conspiracy, long distance romance and a happily ever after, but all of that will have to wait for another time, this post is already dragging on! I've already made mention of how awesome he is (re - see Pops' entry above), and its for real. He is truly the one meant for me and I am thankful everyday that he married me. To say I couldn't have done any of this, my mom's sickness through this campaign, without him is such an understatement. He is so supportive of everything I want to do, and I know that this is no different. But I also know that he misses my mom too. They had such a fun relationship. They were constantly teasing each other, and he could always make her laugh, even if it was usually at herself! She loved him very much and thought the world of him, and I know the feeling was mutual.
Catie Ross - I met Catie at UT. We lived in the same dorm freshman year and pledged the same sorority. We quickly fell into the same group of girls and our friendship steadily grew over the next four years (or 5 for me but who's counting?). We figured out that we had a lot in common (love of sports, Friends, and celebrity gossip) plus we can make each other laugh, like a lot. Our parents met and became great friends too (anyone else noticing that my parents have me to thank for a lot of their friends, just sayin). Not oddly enough, our moms bonded over a lot of the same things we did (Can I get a B-I-G-G-I-O?). We have had so much fun over the years mostly through filling our mutual need for random trivial knowledge about things that aren't important to most people except me and her. Catie and her husband Brian (um, see next entry) are the ones who got me involved in this campaign and have been my biggest mentors and cheerleaders throughout this process. They have 2 precious and brilliant children together.
Brian Ross - So we discussed above that he is married to Team Awesome member Catie and I met Brian when he and Catie started dating in college. And then I rented his apartment one summer in Boston (he went to Harvard Law and was clerking in Houston for the summer) and lets just say that it is nothing short of a miracle that their son Turner is my Godson after the way we left his apartment. Yikes. Still apologizing and embarrassed about that one! But I digress…Brian is one of the smartest and wittiest people you will ever meet. You know that feeling about an hour after a conversation is over and you think to yourself, "oh that would have been really funny if I has said that then". He never has that feeling. He says that funny, witty, smart thing when he was supposed to. Every time. Kind of jealous of that. On a not so funny note though, Brian was diagnosed with Lymphoma in December of 2007. I remember so vividly when I found out. Catie was newly pregnant with their first child, and I had just had my oldest Patrick, and I just could not imagine them going through what would be the most joyful time and hardest time of their marriage together at the same time. He was a rockstar too though and responded to his first protocol of treatment like a champ and has been in remission ever since. He was also the LLS Gulf Coast Chapter's Man of the Year in 2012 and was the one who nominated me for this campaign. To that I say Suck it Cancer!!!
April McGee - So last but not least is April. She is my sister's husband's brother's wife. Did you follow that? But since I have known our mutual brother-in-law since I was in 7th grade (making him essentially like my brother) when she married Wells, Tom's (i.e. mutual bro-in-law) brother, she was family to me too. They have one daughter, Claire, who falls in age between my two girls and since they live around the corner from us, the 3 girls have become great friends. All this makes the holidays super easy and fun with the fam! April is very active in many non-profit organizations and is a pro at organizing and volunteering at galas and auctions. Translation, she has a big heart and loves a challenge! So when she mentioned to me that she would love to help me gather auction items, I responded, "Awesome, you're in charge of it". And man, she hit the ground running, and I have been trying to keep up with her ever since! So lucky to have her, she's pretty fabulous, like her bitmoji (seriously, how is her's so much more fabulous than the rest of ours?).
Honorary Team Awesome Member:
Lindy McGee - My big sister. She is an honorary member of my Team Awesome. I know she supports me fully in this effort for so many reasons. First being, she is a pediatrician and she is dedicated to making sure others are healthy through the advancement of medicine. She is a fabulous doctor. In fact, I always recommend to anyone thinking about becoming a parent to make sure they have a pediatrician in their immediate family. It is a MAJOR plus. Secondly, any spare time she has between being a doctor, a mother to my sweet niece and nephew, and wife of previously mentioned Tom, she devotes to several non-profits that she feels passionately about. And we are not just talking volunteering here and there. This is full time committed, president of the board involvement. Currently she is ending her tenure as President of the Board of
Bo's Place, and in a few weeks will be talking on a panel of experts at the
Immunization Partnership's Annual Community Immunity Luncheon, an organization that she has also served as President for. She gives so much of her time and talent so selflessly to better our community, and I am always so proud to be her little sister. Finally, and most importantly, she gets it. More than any other person in this world. Mom was her mom too. We share that bond, like so many others, and we are unified under it. And also did I mention she is GORGEOUS?
So there they are, my own Team Awesome! Aren't they well, awesome??
Don't forget if you live in the Dallas area, please plan on coming to my
Crawfish Boil Fundraiser on April 24th at the Barley House. And speaking of awesome things, there's an awesome "
Donate Now" button on the right, and an equally awesome one in the menu that says "
My MWOY Home Page" which will take you directly to my personal donation webpage. Just sayin. Continued thanks to all who have donated, shared posts and links, and sent kind words and prayers. A special thanks though tonight to my TEAM AWESOME! I thank my God every time I remember you…for sure.
