11.06.2015 - 98 of 365

11.06.2015 - 98 of 365

1 mile run - Lake Serene

72 degrees 100% humidity

Today's topic is about Bob and Hallie Crawford. And about how thankful I am for every day that I get to spend on this earth with my daughter. 

Bob and Hallie Crawford

Very few of my friends have ever heard the names Bob and Hallie Crawford. Actually I am pretty sure that My wife Jenny and our friend Mimike are the only two people that I know that have ever heard those names. Until today I only knew the name Bob Crawford because I am obsessed with the band The Avett Brothers. Bob Crawford is the bass player for the band, and an amazing bass player he is. This man gets up on stage each and every night to make his audiences happy. He leaves his family and puts my happiness first in his life. Why does he do this? Because it is his job, his passion, what he loves to do, it is what provides for his family. I was recently listening to The Avett Brothers on YouTube and ran across a video that would change my life forever, and bond me even closer with this band and these guys that I have never met, but feel like I know as part of my family. I know pretty much everything there is to know about The Avett Brothers music. I know all of their songs, the lyrics, the names of every person in the band, and even how to play a lot of their songs on guitar and piano. What I didn’t know until today was their personal lives, especially Bobs. As I was writing a blog about my wonderful daughter that has recently turned three years old, I was also listening to the Avett Brothers. This is nothing different from my typical day. Hell, I am actually listening to them as I write this. 

Anyway as I was writing about my daughter, Ruby earlier today, I let YouTube do what it typically does and play the next song…. This time it didn’t play a song, it played a video about Bob and Halllie Crawford which you can find here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=y9fK-sMm7y I had heard that Bob’s daughter had cancer and that they had been fighting it for years, but until I saw this video I never really understood it. This video  made me look at my life differently. I know that I say this a lot, but The Avett Brothers speak to my family and me. I know these guys hear this all of the time from their fans, and that should be expected. Jenny and I say all of the time that they are probably the most genuine band we have ever seen in concert and that their lyrics relate more to our lives than any band that we have ever heard.

 

Today I met Hallie Crawford. Bob shared her with me today and I shared her with my wife. We both were floored; we both stopped everything we were doing to watch this video. You see Jenny and I both ran the St Jude Marathon as our first full marathon. 

This was the first of what has become to be many marathons for me. It will be the most memorable marathon on my life. We ran through the campus of St. Jude and I saw things that I never imagined that I would see. Honestly when I signed up for this marathon I didn’t know much of anything about St. Jude. When I ran through that campus I realized that this marathon was not about me anymore, it was about the kids that were living there. These kids were lined up in wheelchairs and some of them even had breathing tanks. At that point in my marathon run I broke down. I stopped and walked as close as I could to one of the children. I didn’t ask her name, but I told her that my name was Chris and that I would run the rest of this race thinking about her. She was a beautiful little girl, maybe 4 years old. She was in a wheelchair with an IV hooked up to her. I ever got her name, but her face has been burned into my mind since December 9th, 2009. I started that day running for my own personal reasons, and finished that day running for her. I became a major supporter of St. Jude from that day forward. Fast-forward to today, Friday, November 6th 2015 and I meet Hallie Crawford on YouTube. The video shows Bob’s daughter at three years old, the same age that Ruby is now. I cried my eyes out watching this video. I have often been “bothered” by the things that I have had to give up to make my daughter happy, until now. I know now that for the past three years of her life I have been selfish. Yes, I have been there for her and I have been a great father, but sometimes I have been upset for having to give her a bath or feed her dinner. I WILL NEVER FEEL THAT WAY AGAIN! After meeting Bob and Hallie on YouTube, I will never feel this way again. I am ashamed for ever feeling this way. Bob, I know that I’ll probably never meet you or your beautiful daughter, but I will never again complain about doing the little things that I take for granted every day. Thank you for sharing your story with the world. Maybe I’ll run St. Jude again in the name of Hallie. Again, I know you will probably never read this, but if for some reason you do, let me know. I’d love to help raise money for St. Jude and your beautiful princess.

My day pretty much goes as followed:

5:30 – Jenny wakes up to get ready for work

5:45 – I typically get up for a cup of coffee and to catch up on the tv news, emails,  Facebook and instagram.

6:15 – I get out of bed to help Jenny get Ruby ready for daycare. I also get changed for my daily run.

6:30 – I kiss ruby and Jenny as they drive off to work and daycare. I start my morning run to cleanse my sole before I go to work.

7:30 – Typically I go to Chic-Fil-A for breakfast and a coffee before I head to work.

8:00 – 12:00 – I teach students math that are trying to get their GED. (By the way, most rewarding teaching job that I’ve ever had.)

12:00-1:00 – Lunch break (I can go wherever I want for lunch)

1:00 – 4:00 – Teach again

4:30ish until bed – I get to spend this time with Ruby and Jenny.

 

According to the video this is Bob and Hallie’s Day (When he is not on tour)

7:45 – Hallie has sedation.

8:30 – Radiation treatment for her inoperable brain tumor.

8:30 – 10:30ish – Recovery (Also when Bob has to do what no father wants to do… Wait for his daughter to wake up)

10:30 – Physical Therapy

11:30 – Speech

1:00 – Neuro Oncology Visit

2:00 – Psycology

 

Ruby and Hallie are both 3 years old. It is not fair that I complain about my life being hard some days and Bob goes through this each day that he is not on the road…..

 

“No child should die in the dawn of life.” – Danny Thomas

“There’s a darkness upon us that’s flooded by light.” – The Avett Brothers