Humbled

I am a humbled person.

To say I have a great support system is an understatement. My wife, my daughter, my family and even my wife’s family. Someone or someones has or have always been there for me. In good times (which is 99.9% of the time) and in bad times (which I have had my share).

This has been no more evident than the past 5 months. Ever since I seriously started talking about running a marathon this year, I have had support. When I was still unsure about running this distance, Sarah turned to me and said I could do it. Even Emma has been really hyped to see me run a marathon. It is a blessing to have these two women in my life and I feel their love and support on a daily basis.

I also have two very supportive parents. My mom and dad have never told me I couldn’t do anything. Even when all I wanted was to study art in college with who knows what kind of job prospect on the other end! They have been supportive of all my major accomplishments - even going out of their way to be there in person for these events.

I am aware of how much my mom wanted to be here this weekend for my run. However, another major event is about to take place in our family. My sister, Kelly, is about to give birth - in the next few weeks - to her first child. So, Grammy is on standby one to fly to Salt Lake City to be there. A perfectly reasonable excuse! Now, I think, what is dad doing in all this? Well, usually, he stays at home and “mans the fort” while mom travels.

But it has come to my attention (strictly through my own detective work) that my dad is going to fly across country this weekend to watch me run 26.2 miles. This is what humbled me. That they would be willing to put their lives on hold and spend the money for a plane ticket to watch me run 26.2 miles. Honestly, my support team (Sarah, Emma, Aunt Jean, Grandma & Dad) might get lucky to see me once or twice in the 4-1/2 hours I expect to be out on the course. That’s a long time for them to be braving the cold to watch me run. But knowing that they are all out there in the crowd somewhere has boosted my strength and spirit this week.

So, while I was surprised that this had been planned for so long, I’m not really that surprised that my dad is going to be here. Because he and my mom are just doing what parents should do - going out of their way to make sure their kids know that they are loved.

I only hope I can be half as good to Emma as they have been to me!

For the record - I figured it out. Sarah only told me because she didn’t want to lie to me.