I was 5’7” in 6th grade. I never remember weighing any less than 100 pounds, so I assume I was just born that way. My 3rd grade teacher not-so-affectionately nicknamed me “Big Mouth”. Point being, the words “Jessica Fletcher” and “small” aren’t often found in the same sentence. When you’re taller than the corn stalks and richer than the cows, it’s easy to stay “big” in the Midwest. But it’s when you’re at the mercy of the Great Pacific, in the shadows of mountains you can see from space, that your boat is literally rocked. This big girl from Ohio got small in a hurry. My body, a speck on the water. My problems, even smaller than that. The several hours I spent in that kayak were some of the most humbling of my entire life. I’m one of the lucky ones. I don’t have a cancer story, but I’ve shared the pain of people who do. That was all the motivation I needed to Kayak for a Cure. And as small as I felt in those moments, I realized how important it is for all of us teeny tiny people to get our heads, hearts and paddles to work so we can get BIG! There is truly strength in numbers. We can laugh together, we can cry together, and together, we can find a cure.