The Winning Avon Essay!

Thanks to Debbie Harvey for submitting this wonderful essay on teamwork (see Debbie and her team, Team Evergreen, above). Please read....I know you'll find it as moving as we did!

This is my first year walking in the Avon walk. I'm walking in honor of my mom who passed away on December 11, 2006. She was my best friend. I gently convinced 6 (to date, maybe more!) of my friends to join me. They knew and loved my mother too.We all live in a very small community called Evergreen in Haymarket, VA. When a got a call that my mom was admitted to the hospital on Nov. 28th, 2006 these friends told me to hop in the car and go be with her. I had no idea what I was in for. I drove the 8 hours to Ohio the next day.

At that moment my friends took over. I didn't ask them for help, they just knew what to do. They cooked, cleaned, helped my children with their homework etc. My wonderful husband did his best to be both mom and dad while I was gone but it was incredibly hard for him as he works long hours. My 13 year old son and I determined that he's an awesome dad but not such a great mom! My friends put together a meal schedule that made sure my family ate a homecooked meal every day that I was gone. They ate better than they ever ate when I was home cooking for them! I was overwhelmed and stressed out trying to take care of my father and my mother in Ohio.

Every day the news was exponentially worse for my mom. Then she had two massive strokes on the same day. Two days later we were at hospice with her. We felt as if it was all a dream. My mom was going to die any day. My friend, Tina, snuck into my house on December 5th, the night of St. Nicholas (a family tradition where we fill stockings) and did the most amazing thing for my children...and me. Years earlier I had told Tina about how my parents had no money when I was growing up so my mom would cut off her panty hose at the top of the thigh. She would them fill them with oranges, grapefruit and bananas to make them stretch really far. Then she'd put in "penny candy". We had no fireplace so my mom tied the full panty hose to doorknobs. Well, on Dec. 5th Tina cut off some of HER panty hose, snuck into my house, filled them with fruit and candy and hung them from doorknobs!

I found out when my kids called me and asked who'd done this for them when they found them the next morning. I couldn't believe she'd remembered my story and that she'd go to all that trouble for me and my family. Another friend, Sharon (also walking on our Team Evergreen) waited at my house for hours for the "oven man" to come fix my oven that hadn't worked since before Thanksgiving. She even paid him! Most importantly my friends offered me prayers,support, a sense of calm and especially love. Love for me, my mom and my family. My mom always told me that I live in a very special neighborhood. She said that we had a wonderful group of friends and we should count our blessings every day.

I still can't believe my mom is gone. I cry every day. I miss her terribly. she would be so proud that we are all walking in her honor. She would've been cheering us on!I'm so glad a friend from church told me about the walk so that I could do it for her. It only took me 2 days to raise my $1800 because my friends knew how important this was to me to do it for my mom!I believe if you looked up "team" in the dictionary there would be a picture of my friends.. Team Evergreen.Thanks for giving us the opportunity to honor my mom, Gerrie.

Sincerely,

Debbie Harvey