Moms

I've talked about my mom in previous posts and about how she told me running was like flying to her. She used to go out into our ghetto Chicago neighborhood and run all winter long while Chicanos hollered at her out of their hooptie windows. The only women on the street at 5am were selling something or other, and it made her jogs a bit of a toll to be grouped in with them. Despite this she always came home talking about flying. She always got back from those outings better off than when she left. One of the last things I said to her before she died was that when I came back from working out or running, the smell on me reminded me of those days.

Today when I went out to barefoot it, the first thought I had was that I was out to fly with the memory of mom, to do a little service to the memory of a person who spent much of her life fighting for rare moments of relief which should have been moments of pleasure. She was a tough broad my mom. She was sick most of my life but in the words of one of her friends: "She always had time to make others feel like they were the most important part of her day". Everyone felt like the most important part of her day.

While I was out running with another barefooter today (thanks for being out there Tom), we were witness to a pretty bad bike accident. A 12 or 13 year old kid went over the handle bars and got a face full of chip and seal, broke a wrist, went into shock and got carted off to the hospital after 20min of us sitting and talking him and his family through it while he screamed and bled. I've seen my fare share of such accidents but today it really made me feel grateful for my time with my family, my friends, and the soundness of my body and mind.

As we end this Mother's Day 2012, let's not forget that the flowers you're supposed to buy and the dinners you think you should cook are not the point. Mothers, you are the water and the soil on which we all grow and thrive. Thank you for your love, your patience, your inspiration, and your mighty examples.

Love you Moms!
Thank you for everything.