I'm still walking with the firefighters. It was 85 degrees outside today as we wound through the streets of Everett. They were walking in 80 pounds of gear, so I never felt like I even had a right to THINK about complaining about my aching feet.. or that weird "clicking" sound that my left knee has been making for the last 13 miles or so.
The firefighters from the Port of Seattle and the others of us on "Team Scoccolo" have all found inspiration from some of the other walkers around us.
We met a woman who was fresh off chemo, losing her hair, and didn't mind talking about her breast cancer.
But there were other women who seemed to have no hair at all under their pink scarves. Many of them said nothing. They just kept on walking. I could feel their determination.
Another woman I walked with had invasive surgery two weeks ago. Her incisions hurt.
There were many women walking who were so very pregnant, the firefighters gave them a mini checkup every time we came across them.
My knee could keep on clicking. I wasn't going to complain with women like that along the route.
Tonight, we're all sore. But this pain will fade. The pain of losing a mother or a sister is forever. That's why tomorrow, we'll get our aching feet, hurt incisions, and "clicking" knees back on the pavement. Tomorrow we walk. I hope you see us and say "Hello."