Blowing Away the Dust and Swiping All the Cobwebs

But I should have come and let you know that life was hitting me: wave upon wave. I was staying afloat, but I had taken on quite a bit of water. I’m sorry. I don’t want to not be here. AKA: I want to be here. I want to reflect on my life, share the insights…I need to because it keeps me accountable.

So, what’s been happening? A couple of things stand out to me.

First, I got to meet up with a couple of old friends last weekend that I had never met. Say thank you to the internet for that one. Several years ago I started reading a diary on Opendiary.com that was written by a gal who at the time was living in Washington, DC. She ended up marrying her Prince Charming and they moved to Memphis. After he retired from the military, I helped him with a resume. It meant that we added the dimension of phone calls to our contacts. We also sent emails and supported each other with prayer.

Somewhere around the beginning of the year she posted that she was going to be running her first half marathon at Wright Pat AFB in Dayton, Ohio. That was close enough to me to drive and meet up with them. I determined that nothing was going to interfere with meeting her then. This is how committed I was to this: when I visited my mom in January we talked about when I would be coming back to visit. Her husband was planning a trip to Alaska to visit his son this past week and she thought it would be nice for me to visit while he was away. Knowing that the race fell right in the middle of his trip, I begged off and went in August instead.

So on Friday afternoon, I drove across state to Dayton and found myself knocking on a hotel door and meeting old new friends. It was odd, because it didn’t feel like I was meeting up with someone new, but instead connecting with good friends.

This was my first marathon experience. The atmosphere was electric. I positioned myself near the finish line and cheered wildly as she ran by me! When it was over and we were walking around my friend put it quite sweetly: we’re like a Reese’s Cup, we go together naturally and smoothly. She’s the rich chocolate and I’m the nutty peanut butter.

Something else happened that afternoon that touched me deeply. Julianne headed us toward a tent where they were giving massages. She thought that would feel good after running 13.1 miles. But when we got over there we found that it cost $15 for 15min and there was a 30min wait. She decided to pass. As we stood by the edge of the tent a guy who had completed the marathon on a recombant-esque bike followed by a spotter walked up to the tent. I had been moved during the race as he passed by me. Now as I watched him I was even more impressed. I do not know what caused his gate to be so haulting, but it seemed laborious to me. Julianne mad the comment that if they didn’t give him a free massage they were just a bunch of bums. Without thinking I replied, “I’ll pay for it.”

I walked over and asked his spotter if they would comp him a massage and he didn’t think so. I then asked if he thought the marathoner would allow me to pay for his massage. He looked surprised, but told me that he didn’t think that he would turn it down. I went over to the man who was now kneeling on the ground. I knelt down in front of him and asked if he would allow me to pay for his massage. He looked at me incredulously and accepted. I handed him the $15 and he gave me his card. And then I walked away. (His name was Greg Damerow and his website is http://wrenchtheparacycle.blogspot.com/)

There was something special in the moment. I had tears in my eyes as I walked away and Julianne had them in her eyes when I got back over to her. She hugged me.

This week has been good. Not real productive but a couple of doors have opened…I’ll write about them later…hopefully as they pan out!

Author: tinamhunt

ESFP with a dash of ADD. Lover of the Word and words. The cup of my life is neither half empty or half full--it overflows! I'm blessed to be a blessing and I'm here to share the journey. View all posts by tinamhunt