Tag Archives: Keepsakes

Carry On

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Well, it has been a little over a month since my last post and it has been a month which carried a lot of sadness.  On April 12, 2013 the world lost a strong and loving woman, on this date my mother passed away after a period of extended illness; my world will never be the same.

In my family my mother’s nickname was The General; that alone should tell you the pivotal role she played in our lives.  For the past several years I have lived hundreds of miles from my parents and I used to joke (well sort of joke) that even though I was hundreds of miles away and in my forties my mom could still call me and tell me what to do.  Like when I was a teen I did not always listen, but I certainly paid attention.

My mother loved fiercely, for me that love and strength fueled me in so many parts of my life.  She is huge part of how I lead at work and how I have raised my children.  I feel I could write a book if I took the time to include all that she has done for me.

Since her passing I have played some of my memories of her in my head some have made me cry, some have made me smile.  Yesterday when I was getting ready for a run, one in particular came to mind and in that memory I took action to etch my mother firmly into my running.

momshats

In early fall of last year I traveled back east and took my parents on a mini vacation to Wildwood, NJ. While there I wanted to buy a hat for running; I was still pretty new to running and had not purchased a hat or headband or anything.  Because Wildwood was such a part of my childhood and I did not get there very often anymore I wanted a Wildwood hat; little did I know this hat would mean so much more.  As it turns out I would only see my mom two more times after this vacation and that time with my parents in NJ holds some special memories for me.

Most of the winter I have been wearing a wool cap when I run and I also purchased a Bondi Band so I do not always wear this hat.  Yesterday it was raining and I definitely wanted a baseball cap, so I pulled out this hat to wear on my run.  As I was ready to put it on memories of that time with my parents came flooding back.  So I took my hat and a Sharpie and wrote a little note for my mom.  I put on my hat and took my mom with me on my run, it was the best run I have had in months.

Love and miss you Mom.

Packing, sweeping, and dusting count as a workout!

Yesterday I took off from running, exercising and blogging; I spent the day doing pretty much nothing.  I was feeling a little guilty but knowing I had to clean and start packing today made me feel less guilty and I am over it.

Today started off nice, I went to Half Priced Books and picked up a lovely planner, which will be my 1,276th attempt to get organized, but at half price who could resist.  Also went to lunch with my daughters and some friends; and when I got home, the cleaning began.

We are moving, hence the feeling I need to be organized and “plan” things, this seems to be the only time I feel the need to find my shit.  And today I found a few cool things! About those in a minute; first a confession that I not only took off from running, etc yesterday I did the same today.  As the title indicates I absolutely believe I did some serious working out  – up and down the steps 100 times, lifting, hauling and toting boxes, taking the trash out and reaching and sweeping and dusting and on and on.  Guess I am still feeling a little guilty about the past two days.

On to the cool stuff I found while cleaning!  First the most awesome item, I found my Mother’s wedding gown, I had it packed away after I brought it home with me during a recent visit to her home (she lives several hours away).  It is a gorgeous gown from 1959, the detail is amazing and the lace is just beautiful and the style is timeless.  Both of my daughters were with me today it was nice looking at the beauty of it and joking that it is so small.   None of us, not even my 105 lb daughter can fit into it, my mother was a tiny woman.  Funny thing is I remember her telling me she was like a size 5, my daughter is a size 2 (and tiny) in today’s sizing; definitely some vanity sizing going on nowadays.

Other cool things I found today – All my BIG clothes that I packed away several months ago.  I was afraid to give them away at first, afraid I would not maintain my weight; today I separated them for two different charities and some ladies at work! Art work from when my girls were in elementary school (they are now in their 20s), pictures from when the kids were little, and two beautiful coats that were my grandmothers, I have them in a bag to take to the dry cleaners, amazing how something from the 60s is so stylish today.

So I have no race times to report or exciting milestones, but I did have an amazing weekend with my family.  We walked down memory lane as we prepare to move to a new home; and for my daughters they are moving on to a new chapter in their lives.  They graduated college in May and both of them start great new careers this month.  I am so proud of them!

Tomorrow back on track, back to the gym to do my short runs and work on my speed.

170 days smoke free and 171 more nights sleep before the Disney Princess Half Marathon.   “Memory is the treasury and guardian of all things.”  – Marcus Tullius Cicero