You thought I died, didn’t you? When I didn’t blog all week, your assumption was that I didn’t finish the marathon because I croaked before crossing the line. Well, I have good news! I didn’t die! I survived! And here is proof:
We did it! We finished the 26.2 mile race! It was hard. Very hard. But it was good. And I spent Monday celebrating my husband’s birthday and recovering from the race and thus no blogging. But I fully intended to blog on Thursday to let you all know about how the race went.
But then this happened:
My best friend Jenny, and her husband David, welcomed Laney Clay into the world on Tuesday, so I spent Wednesday and Thursday in Indianapolis getting all the snuggles and kisses in that time would allow. And therefore I didn’t blog on Thursday either.
So, between those two milestone events, a marathon parenting session with my son on Tuesday, shopping for work on Friday, and running a 5K and prepping a sermon on Saturday, I had a pretty crazy week. But a pretty memorable one as well.
Here’s what I will take with me about last week:
- Deciding to do something big like a marathon is totally doable when you do the necessary training, have the support of your friends and family, and you depend on God for His strength in your moments of weakness.
- There is nothing like: seeing your family cheer for you on the marathon route, having your friends chant “bacon” for you .2 miles from the finish, falling in the arms of your running partner after your medals have been placed around your necks and crying that you did it.
- Even as you walk down the hall two days later in a little bit of pain, you will smile and think, “I just did a marathon!”
- Even though it is hard, getting to the heart of your kids so that they understand right from wrong and the role of consequences in their lives is so important and worth the time.
- There is something so peaceful about being with your best friend – even in the midst of chaos.
- Newborn babies sleeping in your arms relieve stress 100%.
- A picture can never take the place of seeing and holding the real thing.
- Remember to enjoy every moment – those babies grow up too quickly!
- Even a trip to Sams can be fun with your kids, if you make it fun.
- Running in grass is hard. But running less than a week after doing a marathon is harder.
- God always has my best at heart, and if I listen to Him, He will share His heart with me.
As I look back on the week and think about the enormity of the stuff that I experienced, it occurs to me that perhaps I need to be looking back on every week this way. Not because every week is full of big things, but because every week is filled with moments that will be forgotten if we aren’t trying to remember. I want to remember the big things, but I also want to remember the little things – like how it feels to hold my son on my lap as we read or watch TV. Or how it feels to sit on the couch and french braid my daughter’s hair. It’s those moments that will be harder to bring to mind as the years go by. And it’s those moments that I will miss the most. So this week, I plan to soak in the moments of everyday life with my family and see what I will take away from those.
What are you working to remember today?