Marathon for Mom and Mike by fall4daisies

Last night was another sleepless night.  Yesterday evening I talked to Steve about my decision to try to run the marathon, and he pretty much told me it was a bad idea.  "You're only hurting yourself," he explained.  Not what I wanted to hear but it's probably the truth.  He wants to go to Chicago and see me run a marathon, but he doesn't want to go there and see me "run around the block" before quitting in pain.

I am so torn.  I spent the morning crying, praying, and trying to figure out what to do.  While I was sitting at the kitchen table looking outside at the gray, dreary day (it really was raining - it wasn't just my perspective), I noticed a lone purple flower on my clematis:

I knew it was sent to me from above....  For those of you who know me, you have heard my stories about how my mom sends me flowers....  Here it is October 8th, and this summer-flowering clematis has a beautiful, single purple flower on it.  One fall day she sent me a single white bloom on my azaela (in our area, azaelas bloom in the spring).  How else does one explain it?!  Thanks, Mom.  I miss you and really needed to feel your presence right now...

Gotta get ready for my ortho appointment in an hour.  I'll update more later.