As the 2013 MS Walk approaches, I think that while
this disease has caused too much pain for my sister and anguish for my
family, it has also given us the opportunity to gather all of our family
and friends for a great way to give back.
This year we're lucky; the Walk will be the second MS gathering for us, as in January my family and I were honored by the National MS Society at their annual Gala Luncheon.
The day was beautiful: family and friends surrounding us, a few tears overshadowed by many more laughs, good food and great fashion. But it wouldn't be a Rothman outing if everything had gone swimmingly.
The morning started off with my sister sleeping right through her alarm. While the rest of us were waiting, practically reciting the White Rabbit's mantra "I'm Late" - from Alice in Wonderland, she was busy taking an exorbitant amount of time primping herself, setting us back about 40 minutes on our schedule for the day. When my dad FINALLY coerced her into believing that she was beautiful enough for public viewing, he had me "dun dun dun" the famous tune from "Rocky." Only this time instead of reaching the top of a set of stairs, we were celebrating my sister descending our staircase and gracing us with her presence.
If showing up fashionably late is the equivalent of a cocktail dress, we were full-fledged ball gowns by the time we arrived at the Gala. We were quickly ushered inside and placed in front of a backdrop to take pictures. Stand here. Shuffle to the left. Move your arm. Get closer. Step forward. More. More. Okay stop. Smile. I imagine this is how the stars feel when the "Paparazzi" are trying to get a good shot.
Once we had taken all of the necessary pictures, I was able to take in the venue the Gala was being held in. We weren't in your typical hotel ballroom, we were in a private airplane hangar at the Ft. Lauderdale airport! It was decorated for the Gala with splashes of orange and white everywhere (since orange is the color of the MS ribbon), and there were private jets surrounding us from the moment we drove in to the fashion show at the end. I felt very "Fly Like a G6."
After schmoozing at the silent auction, all 1000+ guests sat down for lunch to begin. This was the part of the day where the "welcome's," the "thank you's," and the "congratulations'" took place. This was also the part where my family and I had to give speeches about our connection with MS. But not my Mom. My Mom is actually very articulate, but is so "emotions taking me over" like Destiny's Child that she can't ever get a word out past "Hello" before she starts blubbering. While we were being introduced she was even getting teary and behind the stage my sister and I embodied "make 'em laugh" to keep her focus on something other than the more serious part of the day.
She pushed through as one-by-one me, my Dad, and finally Alie gave our speeches and then we all came together to accept the award being presented to us. We didn't have to worry about Mom crying here, because Alie dropped it. Twice. I thought of the Aaliyah lyrics "If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again." When that advice didn't work for her, they finally handed the award to me to hold for the picture.
It was a great way to break the ice though, and move right into the fashion show. We had front row seats from our table and all of the "supermodel[s]" sache shante'd right past us in gorgeous bathing suits, sundresses and ballgowns. Perfect for sunny SoFla.
And now I'm back in SoFla for the Walk tomorrow. While I can't wait to spend the day with family and friends and see what shenanigans are in store for us, I hope that one day all the Walks are cancelled because we helped raise enough money for research that erased MS.
If you would like to donate to my Walk efforts for Team Alie, please visit the link below: http://
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