Friday, August 6, 2010

Soul weary and bone tired

This week has put me through the ringer. I am exhausted and weary and I'll admit, just a little snippy. We can't all be perfect. The good news is that I think the tests went well. The really good news is that I didn't die, and the best news yet is that all it will take is a warm bed and a long hot shower to set me right again and you definitely couldn't have convinced me of that yesterday. 

This has been a tough week emotionally as well as mentally and physically. My mom needed some routine surgery that ended up being less routine than we thought. It all turned out alright, as things often do, but it was still stressful. Thankfully after a 3 day stay in the hospital, she was able to go home today and I look so forward to seeing her tomorrow. 

My mom is one of my very best friends. 


When I was in high school I would wake up early and we would sit on the porch together, her with her coffee and I with my tea watching the sun rise. We also would run together in the mornings, usually just a few miles at a time until I went away to college. We continued to run together when I would come home for the summer and sophomore year of college we made a pact to run a marathon together. We were never fast, in fact you could probably walk faster than my mom and I run, but we never walked. That was a part of the pact. We could run as slow as we needed, but we were not allowed to walk. We started out running a 5k, then a 10k and then a half marathon. We never did run that marathon because I overtrained and ended up getting hurt, but we did run another half marathon. The last time I added up two halves they made a whole, so I tend to count it as if we ran a full marathon, although I know that's not really the same. 

I love looking back on the good quality time with mom, and I learned some valuable lessons on that pavement. I learned to be thankful. I learned to think of other people, and I learned that my mom is a very neat person with a very special heart. When we first started running together, I would complain. "I'm so hot. My legs hurt. I am so thirsty." And my mom would say, "We should be thankful. When you feel hot, thank the Lord that you can feel hot, some people have no blanket at night, no warm clothes for the winter. When your legs hurt, be grateful that you have legs that can feel and move. Some people would love to be able to run. When you're thirsty, thank the Lord that you are a short time away from water when there are people that have never had clean drinking water." I learned some less important lessons too. Like that the best time of day to run through a marina is at sunset. The sailboats clang and the sky is golden. All good magic happens at twilight. 

I gave up running after our second half marathon. At first it was just a break while my foot healed, and then I just never started back again. Now I only run a mile every once in a while, but lately, I've started thinking about it again. It helps me deal with stress, and stress is something that seems to be raining down on me.  So I've signed up for another half marathon and I'll soon be training again. It's not going to be easy. It never was, but it will be worthwhile. I'm going to run the Disney World Princess Half Marathon and I am really starting to get excited. My friend Destiny is supposed to run it with me and mom says she and my sister will be training to run it too. In fact, I think everyone should run it. Here's the link.


The race is going to be through the park, including Cinderella's castle, and all of the characters come out to cheer you on. When you register (and I know you will!), it prompts you to say who your favorite Disney princess is and they print that picture on your bib. I picked Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She was always my favorite because she loved to read. 

So, who am I going to see on your bib?

2 comments:

  1. Yikes, I'm really glad your mom ended up being OK! I know that must have been really stressful. Thinking of and praying for you all as she recovers.

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  2. I am glad everything with your mom went ok! And you o girl running that half marathon! I have a huge respect for you doing that! Can't wait to see your medal in person! You will have to have show-in-tell at class! :)

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