Twins Run 55

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Back in May, we celebrated turning 55 the only reasonable way we could think of: Twins Run 55, a birthday run involving inflatable costumes, friends, family, fundraising and a fair amount of ridiculousness.
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Both NBC29 and CBS19 came out to Darden Towe Park to cover it, which meant our inflatable birthday celebration actually made the news. What started as another one of our ideas turned into exactly what we hoped it would be: people showing up, having fun and helping us support causes we care about.

A lot has happened since then.

This summer, I started making collages from Keith’s Instax photographs after they were finally returned to us following his death in February. Two of those pieces were accepted into Second Street Gallery’s Teeny Tiny Trifecta 9. They’re now available for purchase, with proceeds supporting Second Street Gallery and my share going to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF), the organization I’m also running for at the Chicago Marathon in October.
And then there are the skeletons.

Skelly and Skelly 2 spent nearly a year outside my townhouse, changing outfits with the seasons and apparently becoming neighborhood fixtures. In September, I learned there had been complaints and that my HOA considered them a “permanent improvement” requiring Architectural Review Board approval.

That turned into something much bigger than two five-foot plastic skeletons: conversations about rules, home, neighbors, self-expression, what counts as “too much,” and the difference between written policies and unwritten expectations. It also led me to knock on doors and meet neighbors who, as it turns out, had quite a lot to say about the skeletons.

On November 1, Skelly and Skelly 2 will come inside. But first, the other four are coming out. Six five-foot skeletons. One townhouse. Because apparently this is where Twins Run 55 has taken us.

Oh and on October 11, Leah will be running the Chicago Marathon in a traffic cone costume in another fundraiser for ALSF.