Probably my last post

Hey Y'all!

Yes, it has been a week since I returned from my trip. Not everyone realizes that, and I haven't done a very good job of letting folks know. I have to tell you that it has been very difficult to write this last post. For almost a month, every day, I pushed myself as hard as I could, and it has been a greater effort than I anticipated to close out the trip. I've tried to start this blog post every day since my return -- and here it finally is.

The trip ended well. You already know how far we rode and drove, so I won't go into that very much. I made it -- with Bret's help, but I made it. Never in a million years would I have believed I could peddle a bicycle over 1000 miles. No one can ever take that away from me. Do you have any idea how that feels? With the help of so may people, I did something pretty much no one believed I could do.

We did make it on the Today show, sort of. Bret and I arrived on the set at a little after 4 a.m. and waited on line (we were the second and third to arrive). We stood next to Lenny, the 70+ year old gentleman who has attended every show for the last 13 years. He was great, and helped us get to know folks, including Meredith Vieira, who hugged me when she heard what we had done (and, yes, she is an awesome hugger). We weren't interviewed, but the camera crew liked us and what we were doing, so we got a lot of close-up camera time (I heard from friends all over the country who saw us). Importantly, there were several close-ups of our MS signs and shirts, so the issue got some play. In the end, that was what we wanted.

The drive home to Missouri was fast and fun. Bret and I traded off the drive. I have never been so happy to be home.

The lesson of this trip is that absolutely anyone can find something, anything, they believe they can not do, and they can do it. Take my advice -- find that thing for you and do it. Get lots of help. Make a plan and do it. Change your plan when you need to but get it done. Accept any and all help that is offered (especially the well wishes; they make a huge difference).

I want to thank everyone for everything you did. People all over this country and even around the world e-mailed their support. I heard people's stories. People told me what this trip meant to them. There were messages from folks with MS that so touched me -- any one of them would have made the whole trip worth it. People contributed thousands of dollars, every cent of which is going to the National MS Society, benefiting MS research, treatment and education. We made a difference, my friends. We made a difference to all kinds of people, and we made a big difference in my life. Jeez, I have a lot of thank you notes to write over the next few days.

So, thank you all. I hope this trip has meant the tiniest fraction to you of what it did to me. And, please, find your "impossible" think and start getting ready to do it, today.

- sean

Sean Spence
MS Advocate
www.MissouriToManhattan.com
seanspence@earthlink.net