An attitude of gratitude: Mile 4

Thunder is rumbling ominously in the distance--uh, make that "closer and closer every second." I already have a dog in my lap. Do you know how hard it is to type with a black-and-white anvil on your lap?

I can also start obsessing about race-day weather, since it is now within range on the ten-day extended forecast. Here's what it currently says:
May 16 Sunday More sun than clouds. Highs in the low 70s and lows in the low 50s.

But! This is not the purpose of this post. I want to continue thanking all of the marvelous people who have gotten me this far. Tonight, we come to Mile 4. If I haven't had a gel by this point on race day, I will do my first one here--a burst of energy for the miles ahead.

And indeed, the fine folks to whom I dedicate Mile 4 were just that: a burst of energy in the first few weeks of my fundraising efforts.

First up (if we're going in alphabetical order) is Lillian. Lillian is so ridiculously cool that I feel like the world's dimmest, worst-dressed, ugliest dullard ever when I stand next to her. She has a razor-sharp wit, a keen intelligence, a deep love of opera, and a thoroughly charming Southern accent. We met under interesting circumstances in (I think) early 2003. I had written an article for our professional association's magazine, and someone had vigorously objected to part of the article I had written. With only two days to find replacement content, I decided to interview Lillian about an interesting project she had been involved in. The interview went swimmingly, the replacement content was more interesting than what I'd had to toss out, and Lillian and I hit it off. Mission accomplished. I look up to Lillian both personally and professionally, and I feel fortunate to know her.

Like Lillian, Neil is also devastatingly smart and possessed of a thoroughly charming accent (British, not Southern). I believe we met when we both joined a committee in the aforementioned professional association. I think we often shared a similar level of befuddlement while serving on this committee, but we tried our best. Neil is to be commended for putting up with endless prattle about my dogs, and is quite simply a true Mr. Nice Guy (or perhaps Mr. Nice Bloke in his case). Thank you, Neil.

I also met Rina during my tenure on the aforementioned committee. Rina amazes me. She runs an extremely successful translation business and single-handedly comes up with the most amazing marketing ideas, like color refrigerator magnets with pithy sayings on them. I have a whole collection of these magnets, my current favorite being a picture of a red water gun and the caption underneath: "Your anti-errorism experts." But what I really love about Rina is how devoted she is to her children. She speaks of their many accomplishments with palpable love and pride.

Finally, we have one of my most important clients, Jess. Jess and I have been working together on project after project after project for close to ten years now, and in all that time, I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice or lose his temper. There have been times when I have really bolluxed things up, and he has forgiven and forgotten every time. He is a fairly serious cyclist, so over the past few months, we've started swapping sports stories. It's been fun to get to know a different side of him.

I am lucky enough to know all of these people "from work," as it were, and tomorrow you will get to hear about some more of my esteemed colleagues. Lillian, Neil, Rina, and Jess, Mile 4 is for you!