Uh, Just a Little Veklempt

As parents we teach our children by example. They inevitably absorb so much of who we are. It's reason enough to set the bar high, to do lofty things, things they can someday aspire to do too, noble, amazing, wonderful things.

Yesterday, my husband ran the Portland Marathon. It's a huge feat for so many reasons, but one of the coolest things about it is that he set an example for our kids. They believe themselves to be like their dad, so they will believe that they can do things like this too. He ran a marathon and planted little seeds in their minds about what felt good and what was possible.

There was that and there was the experience of knowing a participant. Being amongst all the silver space blanket clad finishers was electric. Downtown the girls and I found a clearing along the race and watched, amazed as runner after runner went by. They were young and old, big and small, tentative in their movements and steady. It was a windy day, there were plastic garbage bags circling in the air above us, giving the air a mystique and filling us with a thrill. We waited and craned necks until here he came, past the opera music's crescendo, clad in navy blue and looking great. Seeing him made me whimper a little, thick in the throat and teary. Emotion crossed his face and he stopped and kissed me and bent down and hugged and kissed the girls. Oh, what a wonderful moment. Afterwards he gave his medal to the Jooge, his sapling to Avery, his rose to me.

I will never forget that day. Our proud hearts, the awe we felt watching him accomplish his first marathon bolstered us as a family. Thank you for doing something so ambitious in front of us, for setting an incredible example. I love you!