It’s all about the times in your life.
My first time experiencing a marathon or half marathon to be precise, brought tears to my eyes and a song to my heart today for so many reasons.
I was in the crowd of watchers because my daughter was competing in her first half marathon. My heart was pounding as I watched the runners, unsure of where my daughter’s face would appear. With camera in hand, I took videos of people running, waiting for that special moment when I would see my daughter run by.
As I waited and watched I noticed the poignant expressions of determination on the faces of the runners.
One of the runners had only one leg and a prosthesis for the other leg. He actually ran 13 miles and went over the finish line with a grin on his face.
A man ran past us and he had only one arm. I wondered if he might have lost his arm in Iraq or Afghanistan. That didn’t seem relevant because he was one of the ones who came in at the very beginning and clearly was thrilled.
Right behind him was a woman with a dark complexion wearing a hijab. America is truly “the home of the brave and the land of the free” I thought.
The timing was so amazing because behind her, came a runner carrying an American Flag. What determination and pride I saw in his expression. I thanked God for giving me the gift of living in this wonderful country of ours.
Then I heard a child’s voice scream, “Mommy!” When a woman who was running heard it, she ran to the child and grabbed her. She spun her around and around and then handed her back to her husband and continued across the finish line. At that moment, I remembered why I gave up a paying job to stay at home with my children. I realized I was never sorry that I had made the choice to be a stay at home mom.
Three women approached and I realized that the two on the outside were holding up the one in the middle. Her feet were barely touching the ground. What an example of camaraderie. It was more important to help their friend make it across the finish line than it was to individually achieve a better time. What an amazing picture of women helping women.
I felt myself getting more apprehensive as the ambulance people pushed the crowd back so that they could get through. All of a sudden, panic set in. I prayed it wasn’t my daughter who had gone down. I prayed that whoever it was would recover.
“Where is she?” I thought. My daughter had told me that she would be wearing a black tank top and a black running skirt and a sparkly pink head band. I had already taken videos of so many women dressed in black with pink headbands that I was running low on battery power.
I guess she thought that she would be easy to find. Not so! After you watch that many people and search for a pink sparkly headband, even a mother panics in fear that she will miss her beloved child run past her.
All of a sudden, I saw her. A pink sparkly headband…where????? It was about an eighth of an inch wide and I never actually saw it until the race was over. I heard myself screaming to her, “Alison, you are almost there! You are almost at the finish line. You did it!” She heard me and looked at me with a big smile and waved.
I felt my heart tug at my emotions and the tears began to roll down my cheeks as I wondered if she would consider wearing a pink hat or a pink balloon the next time.
I suddenly realized that I was not watching a beautiful 26 year old married young woman running in a half marathon, I was seeing my baby girl.
I saw that chubby little “pre-schooler” who looked into the audience at Happy Hearts when she was on stage dressed as a star in the sky – only to remember that I wasn’t there because I was home caring for her little brother with a 104 F temperature. The friends who had taxied her that night told me that she had looked into the audience and then suddenly realized that I really wasn’t there for the first time ever. They explained that she burst into tears and ran off stage.
I saw that little girl who was playing T-ball and while in the outfield, she was focused only on doing summer salts. Then when up at bat, I saw her looking into the group of parents to make sure that I was watching her.
I saw the little girl who swam her heart out at Waynesborough and then excitedly ran to me and asked, “Did you see me? How did I do?” Laughingly, I always said, “yes and great” and then we talked about her achievements and how well she had done.
I saw the young fifteen year old girl who, two days before her birthday got angry with me because she hadn’t seen any signs that I remembered her big day. Little did she know that she was going to have a surprise birthday party. She will only understand the memory of a mother when she is one.
I saw the young “high schooler” who was angry with me because I voiced my opinion on some of the boys she dated. I saw the same girl who made poor choices and was angry with me for telling her so and giving her consequences.
I saw the beautiful young woman who walked down the aisle almost a year ago to marry a man who I believe with all of my heart is perfect for her. The same man who was in the crowd of well wishers, cheering her on today.
My heart was exploding with memories and pride and happiness. How amazing is it that a mother’s love can take you on such a roller coaster ride with your children? I guess that is why I have learned so much during my life which has truly been a Mother’s Marathon.
