Walkathon fundraiser — kids set new personal bests!

Photo op before they got too sweaty

The boys made an impressive effort Friday at their school's annual walkathon fundraiser. Honestly, I lost faith as the temperature neared 80 and the kids started to fade just 10 laps in ... I was certain we'd be heading home early.

Comparing results

But the boys rallied and were among the greatly diminished group of students still walking when the event came to a close after four and a half hours. Calvin met his goal with exactly 35 laps and Finn beat his with 40 — that totals about 11 and 13 miles, respectively. In addition to besting their past records and meeting their lap goals, they were motivated to try to raise $275 apiece — enough to earn a seat at a celebratory school pizza party.

Many of you have generously supported the kids' efforts in years past, and they're very grateful. Unfortunately, I bungled the online donation options this year by waiting too long. You can't set up them up after the event, it seems. Oops.

So we're limited to checks this year. The boys are turning in their donations by Nov. 4 to qualify for prizes like water bottles and that coveted pizza party. If you'd like to donate, you can a) email a pledge followed by a personal check we can fold into the check we write, or b) send a check made out to the Cumberland PTA. (Any PTA checks received after Nov. 4 will still be gratefully accepted by the PTA.) And donations can be lump sums or per-lap amounts. The latter seems anticlimactic after the event, I suppose, but they boys do keep track of how they did from one year to the next and they're getting competitive. (Finn was motivated to best his brother and earn the right to choose where we'd go for dinner.)

Thanks for considering it. The PTA funds all the really fun stuff at school, including the science fair, garden, and clay programs I help with, and great arts programs the boys really enjoy. (And I confess I enjoy hearing my boys talk about composers in the Romantic period and trompe l'oeil painting...)

Still going on his 40th — and final — lap!