my big bro...

got an email from my big bro this morning [via my folks].... last year he rode in the annual Make  a Wish Foundation's fundraising bicycle ride... traverse city to chelsea [MI]; 300 miles in 3 days. looks like he is planning on doing it again... i know he's struggling right now as he has been laid off work, but he wrote the following, and it touched me.... didn't realize just how much he has grown up...

"It’s the spirit of this ride, the realization that in the scope of our lives there is always hope and the capacity to do something that benefits someone else that fuels my days. This year, having been laid off three weeks ago I was tempted to not take part in this year’s ride. However, I realized that this is a rare window in time in which I can throw my energies more fully into helping to make a difference in a family’s and child’s life; to look beyond my own circumstances and focus on making a difference in someone else’s life along the way."

so i checked out his sponsored webpage, and made a donation... didn't think twice about it... and posted him a note.  i wish him well on his upcoming ride, and i hope he can present one of the *Wish children* with something that lets him/her know that there are people who care. thanks, paul, for making a difference in a child's life...