Patrick and I would like to invite you to our Bike Rally this Sunday afternoon, June 6, at 1:30. We are raising money for Riley Urology Research. Free bells, Bounce House, massage chair, T-Shirts, face painting, and snacks. You can bid on Silent Auction items, enjoy a bike ride on the Monon, and have fun! Why? Here's our story:

 

     This past winter I was standing in line at the bank, doing the first of my usual Saturday errands. When it was my turn, Keith, one of the tellers whom we have gotten to know over the years, said, "I want to ask you something."

     "Okay."

     Keith rushed into his one sentence request. "I have a newborn son who was born with a rare congential condition so he has been in Riley since he was born and because of that, my wife can't go back to work, my in-laws are living with us, and I am here at the bank and I was wondering if you guys at Carmel Cyclery would put on a bike rally to help raise research money for the doctors at Riley because I remember you did a bike rally for that little boy who had leukemia."

     He had me convinced at "in-laws."

     The next time I was at the bank, I asked Keith how his son was doing. "Oh, he's back at Riley."

     "I am sorry to hear that."

     "Oh, it's okay. He has to be at Riley alot but we are not letting it ruin our lives. Even though Joshua has medical problems, he is still a baby who loves to grin, be held, be played with, and loves his family. That's what we hang onto when he gets sick. And I am taking the doctor's advice."

     "What's that?"

     "Enjoy your son, love him and take each hurdle as it comes."

 

     Good advice for all of us parents.