On a serious note.

I am sitting here this morning, attempting to prepare for leg day, which is my favorite day of the week, but tends to be the most painful for me, and the most treacherous.  And I realized I haven't shared with you out there yet necessarily why I am putting myself through this.  Why beat my body, and why set a time frame so short as a goal to com, pete in a strength sport.  The truth is, that it is as much for me, as it is for a little guy I know.  His name is Grey, and he is probably one of the strongest, most positive people I have ever seen.  I started this as a pipe dream, which in turn spiraled this kid and his family coming up to see me compete in September.  Him and his family have become an inspiration to me, a beacon to guide me, and a motivating force to the way I train.  Grey and his family have in a very short period of time, shown me how we should be in this world.  This is my way to thank him and his family for that.

Not many of you know I am sure that my wife lost her mother only a short while ago, and for a brief period, she was lost in her guilt, and her pain.  Then she found this family, by chance.   And then something magical happened, she found purpose in her grief.  This family along with a couple others helped her without even knowing that they did.  It was shortly after those initial meetings that my loving wife had an idea, a hope, that we could shed some light on childhood cancer and other diseases afflicting our kids, and make the kid happier as well.  She founded Blanketed in Hope ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blanketed-in-Hope/484037978324638 ) to give kids fighting cancer and other life threatening illnesses something tangible and their own to take with them to the hospitals when they go for their treatments, or stay for a prolonged period of time.  A lot of times these kids pick out the colors and designs of their rag quilts, and my wife along with a couple of other "sisters in stitches" sit down, and make them and ship them at no cost to the family what so ever.  They ask for donations, and many MANY good people have helped keep my wife's little non profit afloat by donating and sponsoring kids to get these blankets.  She has asked me too many times to help her with her sewing, and you can imagine how that turns out for the both of us.  I can't stitch to save my life.

But I can lift.  I can work.  I can start here by spreading the word.  I can tell you my story, and the stories of others.  I can talk to you when you meet me as to why I am doing this.  Which on the surface there seems to be no correlation, but I can tell you right now, that couldn't be farther from the truth.  Yes my immediate goals I have already set forth, but I have an ultimate goal, I have an ultimate aspiration.  I want to create a strength event like none other.  One that brings all the disciplines to the table from strong man, to highland, to powerlifting.  I am putting out here right now, I want to see all those strong men and women, I want them all in one place, and I want it all to benefit childhood cancer research.  I want the word to be spread, that cancer and other life threatening childhood illnesses are the most under researched of all illnesses in the U.S.  I want to do this for Grey, and for Wes,  I want to do this for EJ and Kadie.  I want those that are still with us to see the support we can give them.  And I want those who aren't with us anymore to see that we still care, and that their lives meant more that they could have imagined.  I don't know if this is a unattainable pipe dream, but I have to try, and I gotta tell ya, of the heavy athletes I have met so far in my journey, I wouldn't want anyone else with me helping on this but them!