Gimme Some of Your Tots!

Today is de-lurking day! So, as per Donna's instructions, leave a comment!

We had a very busy weekend, mostly highlighted with Napoleon Dynamite quotes. If you have never seen Napoleon Dynamite, I say to you, rent it, watch it, watch it again and then you will understand why it is funny.

Now, Kevin and I rented it and only watched about 40 minutes of it, definitely not a long enough time to get a full appreciation for all that N.D. is. He bought the movie last week, impulse purchase at Target, and we have watched it twice so far, each time laughing a little bit more.

The word, "coccyx" has become a new favorite around here. Jeremy came up with this great idea to make a zip line using the post on the back porch. He spent hours working on perfecting his "contraption." When John came home from school, he of course wanted to try it. Jeremy said to Kevin, John's gonna fall off there and break his coccyx. We about died laughing! (N.D. reference)

John did not break his coccyx nor did Jeremy. They are, I'm afraid, going to break the back porch. The zip line required some tweaking so John fastened the other end of the rope to our clothesline. It's not a zip line in the true sense of the word, because it doesn't take you from a high point to a low point. It's a slow decline, but they think it's an absolute blast.

There is a lot of weight being supported by that rope and every time they jump off of the ladder to ride down the line, the house creaks. Or rather, the back end of the house creaks. A most unpleasant sound when you are the homeowner. I just hope they become bored with the zipline before the porch falls into the pool.

Anyway...

Last week for Donna's Friday Five, she had as one of her questions, Have you ever seen a ghost or an angel?

I told her that I would answer here on Saturday, but never did because I did the Two Things Meme. So here is my angel story.

Four years ago, I ran the NYC Marathon, many of you know that. What you don't know is what happened to me at mile 21, yes I said mile 21. I was tired, really tired and my right knee was screaming at me to STOP for the love of God, STOP! Also, I hurt my left foot around mile 16 as I was going around a turn after coming off of one of the bridges. It actually hurt more to walk than it did to run, so I just kept on running.

I had seen my family at mile 17 and that really renewed my energy and desire to finish strong. At the 21 mile mark, I was getting discouraged though. The speed walkers were walking faster than I was running! I was playing big mental games, Run another 15 steps and then you can stop...O.K. you ran 15 steps, just do 15 more...look, there's a water table stop there and rest...

As I was approaching the water table, I heard footsteps behind me which was odd because I was surrounded by the noise of the crowds yelling and other runners talking. So I heard the footsteps and then I felt a gentle hand placed on my shoulder. I looked to the right to see a young man with brown hair and blue eyes smiling at me. He said, "You look good, runner. Keep going, you're almost there...(pause)...You can do it." And with that, he was gone. He took off and disappeared into the sea of marathoners.

It was the oddest feeling. I knew he was sent to me so that I would be encouraged to keep going, to Press On, if you will. I believe with all of my heart that he was angel.

I'd like to say that he was the reason that I finished the race, but really I finished that race by sheer determination and will, he helped me to simply remember that I could.

Look to the finish!