My Mommy's My Hero!

Awwww, I just got back from San Francisco, where my mom "race-walked" 13 miles in 4 hours! She's my hero, as the subject says. I'm so so proud of her! She's amazing, and so strong. She's been training for 6 months for this event, the Nike Women's Marathon benefitting Leukemia and Lymphoma (blood cancer) research, and she feels great! I'm glad to see her so happy and healthy - I've got a warm, fuzzy feeling inside just thinking about it... unless that's heartburn. *rubs chin as if a beard were there* Nah, it's pride and happiness.

However, I WAS super-jealous after the race, because all of the racers (male and female) got silver "medals" (necklaces) from Tiffany & Co. in the shape of a woman running! They were handed to the participants at the finish by handsome men in tuxedos - not too shabby after traveling between 13 and 26 miles on foot! I'm thinking I might walk the half-marathon with my mom next year - not just for the Tiffany necklace though. I swear!

Actually, I probably walked 10-11 miles myself with my dad, cheering my mother on and keeping her company along the walking route. In addition, we walked several miles around the Hait Ashbury neighborhood, which is a funky boutique/shopping area which was the center of the bohemian movement (aka hippieland) in the 60s and 70s. It was really cool, though there were a lot of young homeless people there, which was really sad - a bunch of them looked like they were only 24 or 25! Yeesh. There actually were lots of homeless people all around San Francisco. It was tough - I mean, who do you give to, and who do you not give to? Is there any rhyme or reason to this giving? Bah. I wish there was some way to better help them too, instead of just giving them a dollar, or some change. I guess you can only do so much though, eh? Oh well.

Anyway, that was the low point of the weekend... besides the foot/thigh/shin/ankle pain I have now. But that's to be expected, so at least I knew THAT was coming. It was a really wonderful trip though, and I had a really good time. I got to meet some new people, hear some really inspirational stories, and see my mom accomplish something she's wanted to do for years. Plus, San Francisco was gorgeous - when it wasn't obscured by fog and mist, at least. The houses and architecture, views of the bay, hillsides, plantlife... you get the picture. It was a great place to have a marathon, as you could never get bored with the scenery. That's a big reason why I would like to do it next year... in addition to the Tiffany necklace and free t-shirts, etc.

But here's a bigger reason - all the money they raise for charity! The organization my mom trained with (which is called Team In Training - TNT) alone raised over 14 million dollars for Leukemia and Lymphoma charities - and they only made up 1/3 of the participants in the marathon! That is flipping amazing - what a splendiferous group to be a part of. They figured out that each mile a TNT member walked/ran was worth $140,000! I think that made the bit of pain and discomfort worth it for everyone.

Anyway, that's my inspirational story for you all. I met a wonderful Colombian woman who did the marathon over the weekend too, but I can tell you her inspirational story another time. My bed is calling to me, as is my bottle of Advil. I have a bunch of schoolwork to catch up on, but it can wait until tomorrow - I brought all my books with me over the weekend, but I didn't get much done. Surprise, surprise.
AND, not only did I not get much work done, but my back is quite upset with me now resulting from the schlepping of heavy schoolbooks all over. It keeps screaming "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!" at me, but I really have no response to him at this time.

It was worth it though. I wouldn't have missed this weekend for the world.

And I repeat: my mom, Wendy Habicht is my hero.

Have you hugged YOUR hero today?

By the way - While in San Fran I DID ride a cable car up a really steep hill, but I did not eat any Rice-A-Roni (the San Francisco Treat *ding ding*)