Hindsight.

Tonight I left my house around 5:30....with the mere intention of picking up a $5 Little Caesar's pizza.

I wish I had done more.

I picked up the pizza, and remembered we needed milk, so I stopped off at the Walgreens on the corner. As I was paying for the milk, a young woman came inside, visibly upset. Soon following her was a...loser....who was screaming at her. She mentioned loud enough for others to hear that the cops had been called. She was frightened, and was loudly telling him to get away from her and to leave her alone. Some patrons and employees sort of made a "circle" around the woman and after he yelled and cursed at her some more, he did leave the store...only bothering to say he was going to "kick in her window."

She asked if we, the folks standing near her, would come outside to be witnesses for her, so that when he did kick in her window, we could all say that we had seen him do it.

Dear God...

I walked outside and I stood at her side while this...loser...kicked at her window four times.

By now a crowd has gathered...she is nervous and shaking. Others begin to ask "What's going on? Did someone call the police?" I am sure her shame and embarassment are growing. I urge her to stay....I ask her if he has any weapons on him. Another woman asks if she has someone safe and that she trusts to talk to when she gets home. She says she just wants to get to her car...but it's in the middle of the parking lot.

The...loser...has since walked out of our sight, but she is still afraid to walk to her vehicle no more than 100 yards away.

A kind man offers to walk her there when he is done making his purchases. I tell her the police will be on their way. I stand there with her for minutes...talking and trying to help her stay calm and rational. I imagine that she just wants to get away at this point, because the police are not responding as quickly as she'd like and this has now "made a scene."

Soon the kind man is ready to walk her to her vehicle. And she walks away with him.

* * *

We just had a woman speak to our bible study group about her domestic violence shelter for women and children. I wrote her a $50 check for her cause.

And yet, out of all the things I could have said and done tonight, why didn't I just tell this woman "You're worth it"?

Team Stroller Strides: Marathon (Relay) Mamas!

Well....we survived!

Sorry to leave you all hanging with the results...it's been crazy around here...teething 20 month old, husband going to drill, working full time, yadda yadda...

So, here it is! The Stroller Strides Marathon Relay Mamas DID IT! Our 26.2 was done in 4 hours and 43 minutes. Not bad for a couple novices and a few who knew what they were doing!


This is Heather, Julaine & I of Team Stroller Strides. Heather had just finished 7.3 miles and it was about 8:20 AM. And, did I mention, she was running with a "Baby on board?"! Doesn't she look so gorgeous & perky for having just done that?! Julaine hopped all around, since she was the 5th leg, to cheer on not only our team, but her husband who did his first full marathon! My mom & sister created the signs (such as this) that they held to support us along the way! (By the way, that's my sister in the background on "Asher duty!")


Here I am...leg 4 of the relay...coming off the bridge. This course is so beautiful and this is one of 3 bridges that the marathoners run on (or off in this case!) This was the first time my "cheering squad" had seen me running! While on the island, I passed a man, probably in his upper 60's, whose shirt said "Completed a marathon in each of the 50 states, including D.C." I told him, "What an accomplishment!" and he thanked me...to which I pointed at my shirt that said "Rookie" & told him, "This is my first race!" He replied with, "Way to go!"


Here's me & my main man....I couldn't have done it without his help & encouragement. He got me through many of my training runs, and he got me through about 2 miles that day! Love you, baby...couldn't have done it without you!


As we were running out to make the final hand-off to my teammate, we saw Sara, my training rock, who was the one who invited and inspired me to join the relay team in the first place! She was amazing and she qualified for the Boston Marathon in this race! Isn't she beautiful?! GOOOOOO, Sara!



Here's our team, sprinting toward the finish line together....it was an awesome ending to a very exciting day!

And here are the happy Mamas post-race...flashing our smiles and our Team Stroller Strides t-shirts, which delightfully matched our medals!


Abbie, me, Susan, Heather & Julaine
Way to go, beautiful, fabulous Moms!
(Photos courtesy of the talented Abbie from Team SS and her husband Conrad, also a relay-er!)