May 18, 2017

My alarm wakes me up at 5 A.M. on a dreary Sunday morning just as I programmed it to the night before. Google politely informs me of the weather outside, "36 degrees Fahrenheit, cloudy, with a 90% chance of light showers throughout the day".

As I lay there, tempted by the siren song of my warm comforters to go back to sleep, I reconsider my life choices. I am scheduled to help Walk MS coordinators set up the event at 6 A.M. sharp. To my surprise, I check my body's state and find that I am tired, that I truly do not want to get out of bed and face another long day outside in the cold and rain.

Saturday, the day before, had been rough for my team and me. Brad and I set out for Buffalo first thing in the morning to set up our booth for Walk MS Buffalo. The Walk took place at picturesque Canalside with it's decommissioned Army fighter jets and Navy ships on display along the canal. (Had the weather been more agreeable, the site would have been perfect for a Walk.) Between the light rain and the wind blowing up waves and sprays from the Canal, everyone at the Walk was cold and wet. Still, hundreds came together for Walk MS to support research to end MS. Brad and I were so impressed by the rallying spirit of everyone there that we soldiered along too. The rain did cut the Walk a little short and by noon we were packed up and headed back for Rochester where we met up with Kurtis and our booth at Imagine RIT. We finally wrapped up for the day at 5 P.M. after nearly 12 hours of travel, rain, and exhibiting.

So there I was the morning of Walk MS Rochester, calculating the pros and cons of staying in bed or getting up and preparing myself for another day of being cold and wet. Ultimately, remembering all of those people who made the effort to go out and Walk in Buffalo gave me the strength to get up and start my day. My team and I were on site right on time to help out as promised.

I love my job, and I like to believe that my passion and enthusiasm comes across in my blogs, newsletters, and social media updates. ThermApparel is a start-up and makes work exciting but also exhausting at times, with lots of long thankless days. I write a lot about the good times, but I also wanted to share this piece where we struggled to do the right thing. If I, the resident overachiever, struggled to get out of bed on that Sunday morning, I can only imagine how hard it was for Brad and Kurtis.

I guess I'm trying to say it's normal to second-guess yourself and want the easy way out. It happens to everyone at different times for different reasons. Luckily, we have such an inspiring community that we couldn't help but give our best too and that's what makes me so proud of my team and this company we created together.

What do you think? Would you like me to include more Inside Looks like this in the future? Let me know in the comments below.