Catch Up Post: Thanksgiving Challenge #3: Conor

I know that I'm posting this a day late, so it'll be a double header for me tonight.

In my defense, I had a 16 hour work day yesterday, and was up for about 20 hours total. That's not easy to do when you're riding the Hyperemisis Gravidarum train in your 18th week of pregnancy. Also, I was away from an internet connection for the vast majority of the day and up to my arms making chili for 150 people the rest of it. So blogging was not at the top of my list!

That being said, I did think an awful lot about what I would write, if I were able to write my post.

It was a pretty obvious one.

As I wrap up my second season of the market, I owe a great big "Thank You" to my best friend, Conor.

I use the term best friend relatively loosely here. There are many people that I've used the term with, and each of them in their own way is deserving of the title.  But with Conor, the truth is that it just doesn't go far enough.

Conor is more than a best friend.

Conor has been- for the past seven years- like a sibling to me. In some ways, like a veritable part of who I am.

Through every life experience, for better or for worse, Conor has been there- the rock in my life who has never once given up on me.

I've had friends go out of their way for me. I've had friends sacrifice a lot. But I have NEVER known a person who gives of himself so willingly.

The Market is only one example of Conor's friendship and dedication.  For the past two summers (about 20 weeks each year), Conor has spent almost every Wednesday by my side.  He has weathered storms, gruelling winds, treacherous suns, hail and threats of tornadoes.  Every Wednesday, he drove from Spruce Grove to my Edmonton home, to baby sit my child until my mom got off work and relieved him. Then he would haul his butt over to the market grounds, where he would proceed to spend the next five hours volunteering by my side.

And when I started to feel like I was the only one who "understood" the operations of the market and wished that someone else at the Board had more direct, hands-on experience, he signed himself up for Board meetings and gave of his time and energy on that front too.

I estimate his total contribution over the past two years to be around 500 hours. That's a lot of unpaid labour. In work hours, we're talking about over $15,000.00.

Does he care about the market? Yes. It's hard not to after putting your blood, sweat and tears into a project for two years.

But did he do it because it was his passion?  No.

He did it for me.

And there's no thank you big enough for that kind of friendship.

*word count: 499

This is post is part of the October Thanksgiving Challenge. I will post a new Thank You blog post every day during the month of October. I encourage you to follow Kevin, the mastermind of this challenge at www.kevinolenick.wordpress.com and fellow blogger Natasha at www.naturalurbanmamas.com. And, if you're up to it, consider doing your own challenge, big or small, to remind yourself to focus on the many blessings in your life.  I've also added a slight 'writing' component to this month's challenge: No posts are to exceed 500 words.