Monday, April 6, 2009

Mission Accomplished

This is where we were...

A beautiful shot of the Capitol at 7:00 AM Saturday morning as we were walking from the Metro stop at L'Enfant Plaza to the Mall.



It simply takes my breath away...we were blessed with the most beautiful morning...just look at that sky behind the Washington Monument. This is where the race began.


This is a shot of the National Building Museum as we came out of the Metro station Saturday afternoon. The runners met here to pick up their race packets & bibs and also to shop the expo that was going on there.


And this is why we were there...


And this is how we got there...


Michael and I after just finishing the 10 Miler.



My niece made this sign for me! She was holding it at the start as we took off! I love it and I love her!


This is our pre-race celebration at Peking Inn Gourmet in Falls Church, VA. This is Mike's FAVORITE restaurant. He hadn't been there in about 7 years. It was a wonderful evening of friends and family and fellowship.



And here's part of my support team...my little Bran! She was such a trooper this weekend as she had a very nasty cold with her! But she knows how important her role is to us at these events so she muddled through it!



And here are two more team members - Mom & Daddy. This was the first race they've participated in with us. My heart was completely satisfied, as I think theirs was, too.


There are very small occasions/events in my life that take place or have taken place that remind me just how loved I am by my family. It doesn't have to be a holiday with presents and cakes, but something as simple as a card after getting a great test score in a class I'm taking or a phone call to see how one of my kitties is doing after surgery. This weekend was one of those events. My parents, brother, niece and daughter gave up their entire weekend to be a support team for Michael and me. We dragged them from one end of DC to the other. We had everyone up Sunday morning at 4:45. We had everyone on the Metro at 6:20 AM. We had them hauling duffel bags and coolers of water and dry clothes. And we had lots and lots of laughter - and cheering - and "woo hoos" - and high fives - and "way to gos"... and love.

My family's not perfect. As a matter of fact, we're quite dysfunctional in our own way. But I wouldn't want to be a part of any other group of loved ones.

I continue to be prideful of the accomplishment Michael and I made this weekend. And we were blessed to have finished the race with good, personal times and injury free. And I'm also grateful to those who pledged money in this race as it was also a fundraiser for Michael and me in our attempt to reach our Relay for Life team goal of $700.00. Thanks to each of you - you do make a difference in the fight against cancer.

I suspect there will be at least one more posting regarding this event. I'm expecting more pictures from the three other cameras that were in play this weekend. So stay tuned, I may even have some pics of the Cherry Blossoms!


3 comments:

Brandi said...

These are great pics!!! Did you get the ones I sent you? You must make sure and post more! :) You guys did great this weekend, we're all so proud of you!!! Love you to pieces!!!!

Karen said...

Hi Joyce! Congrats on the run and fun! Yes, it's nice to be loved by our "dysfunctional" families (everybody has one, even if they don't see it that way!!) See ya soon! K

Just Marianne said...

Hi Joyce! Congratulations on your accomplishments! I am sure it was a fun run and happiness shared with your family. I fully know what you mean about dysfunctional. My daughter's favorite saying is "we put the fun is dynFUNctional!"