random thoughts on the day before my birthday

Not only was this World run day but it was also the day before my birthday. The picture is of Tom, Me (looking good one day before I turn 56 I must say before I go on to say anything else - and the hair color is real, dammit - my friend Enid says "you don't get that color out of a bottle" and she should know, being 83 and a stylist in her younger days") and Suzanne - who might make me look short and stubby when you see the rest of me standing next to the rest of her.

I am inspired by my friends on this day. I got up to run at 6:30 with my 84 year old friend Sid. We walk most of the three miles, me with Jack the dog and he with his dog, Curly. He needs a new knee and at 84, instead of hanging it up, he has made an appointment in January with an orthopedic surgeon so he can run again. Instead of saying "I'm 84 - I better quit", he is making plans to fix it and also wants to lose ten pounds. That's inspiration for you. He has some great stories to tell...and some great poems to share with me - most of them he has memorized. I love his father's quotes too. His dad died when he was only 13 - from cancer. Here's a few of my favorites:

If I would have had money for a gallon of gas, you wouldn't have been born in Montana (He always told Sid this).

To Sid's mother, about Sid "Dammit woman, give that kid another pancake. He's so skinny you can read newspaper through him".

To Sid's mother when he came home drunk one night "Jesus Christ woman, the next time the bed comes around, Grab it!" I guess he had a bad case of the spins.

Today Sid said to me, after quoting one of his poems. "I think any poem where the author is listed as anonymous, must be written by God".

Anyway, Sid and I had a good 3 mile walk with our dogs and I am always inspired by his goal setting and never giving up. After I got home, I changed clothes and met Suzanne and we ran up to meet Tom. We proceeded to run 13 miles - it was great and they are great friends. We all agreed that running has helped us cope with death, problems with our kids and problems with work. Running is something we all have to do and hopefully, we can continue to do it till we are 84, like Sid.

One thing that has been on my mind. This will be my first birthday without my mom. I won't be getting a call from her saying "Happy Birthday, Baby Girl". I always laughed at a 50 something still being someones baby girl. I will miss being her baby girl this year but so it goes and so live goes and it is all still good.

Tomorrow I will get up at 5 AM and run with my friend Becky and Jack the dog. Becky just finished the New York Marathon so maybe it won't matter that I feel pretty sore from my pre-birthday actions.

Running with another good friend will be a good way to start my birthday. Love you Ma - send me some sort of message even if you can't call.