HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY ONE of the appeals of this running thread is the fact that we have both men and women who post here. While some are from Venus, others from Mars, all of us share Earth and run. An all male thread would quickly degenerate to areas best not thought about right now. An all lady thread would be......well......maybe we better not go there EITHER. In any regards, this co-ed thread is perfect...especially at this stage in life. Many of you are considered goddesses in this thread. One of the attributes that makes you a goddess is that you are a mother. You easily do things that men simply can't handle and YOU do it well. You sit at cold soccer games on a Friday night instead of opting to stay home or even watching from your car. This allows you to the answer the question "Did you see my goal?" with a positive "YES" and mean it. You have stayed up many nights nursing fevers, upset stomachs and while stroking your child's hair, ....are then able to say..."It's alright, Mommy's here" and it WAS alright for that very reason. You have organized carpools and rides, baked cookies, sewed Halloween costumes to fit and done it all with love and care. What makes a good mother? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you see your son or daughter walk down the street to school for the first time or leave on the first date? Is it the jolt you receive when you wake at 2 AM to know your child needs your touch? Is it the need to leave what you are doing and give your child a hug when you hear of a tragedy from a school shooting, a car accident, a fire, or a baby dying? I think so. Today my tribute is to Mother's who have tried and think they failed........when you really didn't. You read the story 5 times and then did it again because they said..."Just one more time Mommy" You hollered at them in the store or stomped your feet when they wouldn't eat. You taught them to tie their shoes or at least bought them velcroed shoes. You bit your lip when they dyed their hair purple. You often showed up to work with vomit on your blouse and spit-up in your hair. You taught your son to cook and your daughter to shoot a jump shot. Your head still turns when you hear the little voice say "Mom", even though you know your child is not there. Maybe you have placed a teddy bear on the grave of a child too soon gone from your life. Or maybe your child has gone astray and been a heartache to you. Every child does this to some degree and in some way. However, as a Mom you stayed in their corner and did not give up. You are special. As a man who has had a wonderful Mom now passed on and a wonderful lady who mothered my children, I have nothing but praise and admiration for what you do for us and for our country. God bless you MOTHER. That leads me to say....Mother's also sometimes are good at rebukes. MONA LISA'S MOTHER......"After all that money your father and I spent on braces, that's the biggest smile you can give us?" COLUMBUS'S MOTHER......"I don't care what you've discovered, you still could have written" MICHELANGELO'S MOTHER........"Can't you paint on the walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get the stuff off the ceiling?" THOMAS EDISON'S MOTHER......."Of course I am proud that you invented the electric light bulb. Now turn it off and get to bed!" PAUL REVERE'S MOTHER........"I don't care where you think you have to go, young man, midnight is past your curfew" HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY GODDESS MOTHER'S !!!!!! PS......Mother's Day happens once a year.......MILK IT !

Good morning Boomers. Vista, your post made me cry! As a mother of a 19 year old son dealing with some major problems right now, I never know if I'm being an enabler or just giving him the love he needs as he tries to figure things out. I do believe in the power of prayer, and I continue to pray for him and all other children who don't seem to think they have a place in this world. Thank you for your kind words. I always say that kids don't come with instruction books - you just love them and do the best you can. Tim - nice run yesterday in less than perfect body conditions. Hope you get over the crud soon. I did 12 yesterday in preparation for a half on the 18th, then played 18 holes of golf and came home and cut the grass. (wait a minute, I thought this was mother's day weekend!). The run was a little "iffy" and had to stop and walk a couple of times. Note to self: don't eat tacos and salsa the day before a long run! Anyway, today is a rest day which is good because it's raining, cold and windy. Should probably lace up the shoes and run because it could be like this next Sunday, but it's mother's day, and I'm opting for the newspaper, a pot of coffee and the sofa. Happy mother's day to all. I hope you get to enjoy some time with those you love and make peace with those you don't. Jeanne

Once again fantastic post Vista. Happy Mother's Day to all our godesses!!! You all deserve a great day. I am having my mother and sister over and all my nieces and nephews over for barbecued turkey and pork tonight. Girls will be with me too as their mother is in New York with her mom. Very special for me as this will be one of the few times in the coming years when I will have the girls on mothers days (great for my mom) 15K just now 5 ez, 5 at Marathon pace (amazing how hard that is to do the day after a race where it all seems so easy) 5 ez to finish. Tired now...going to pick up the girls at Topdown's they slept over there last so they can have fun with T's daughter...they are great friends. Have a great day to all Tall

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. And if you're not a mom, you more than likely had/have one...so happy Mother's Day to her as well! Yes, got back from the Grand Canyon yesterday. It was my first time...so WOW is all I can say. (well you may be wishing that's all I can say...but here's more) Got to Phoenix on Monday afternoon and got settled in and reaquainted with fellow associates from across the country. Early Tues. morning went for a nice easy 3 mile run. I Was staying at the Embassy Suites and asked the desk clerk if there was a popular running route close by. He turned me on to the Old Crosstown Canal Route about a half mile from the hotel. It was 5:00 a.m. and nearly daylight. I've forgotten Arizona does not do the Daily Savings thing. Phoenix is a beautiful city. Took a bus to the Canyon. We stayed at the Albright Center which is a federal trainng center for the National Park Service. Meager accomodations, which is fine, but considering the location, it was outstanding! Had a little orientation meeting and with little daylight left (no dst) we took the bus to a couple of lookouts. Here is me at the first stop. The next morning (Wed) our team got up and did a short hike down Bright Angel Trail. We didn't have alot of time as we had to get back to the training center by 8:00 a.m. Later that afternoon, I went back to the Bright Angel and hiked farther down and at a much quicker pace. It's tough there, I wanted to get in t good workout, but the beauty makes you want to slow down and enjoy. I found the fine line to doing both. Thursday morning an associate and I went for about a 6 mile run along the rim. He is a marathoner and has run 3 marathons. The first one being in Helsinki Finland where they finished in the Olympic Stadium. The last one, I believe, was in Austrailia. Very nice! Had a great run and a nice visit. Here is me at sunrise. I didn't get a picture of him with my camera, but did take one of him with his. I may post that later when I get a copy. Thurs evening I was exhausted. Friday, back to OKC, then Saturday made it back home. Have baccalaureate tonite....my son is graduating high school! (I'll send out announcements to you all later this week ) Church with Mom later this morning. It's good to be home.

...sarge//.....try to go to the East Rim......VERY undeveloped, GREAT view of the Painted Desert........ and gets you away from the crowds..... also, if you go back at night, head for one of the points just inside the park.....YOU CAN SEE GALAXIES...it's that clear (also, they usually don't charge you for going in).........enjoy

Vista - you made me cry, you made me laugh. Happy Mother's Day everyone. Even if you are not a mother, you am betting you have a special caring, feminine quality about you that you share with the rest of the world. There is more than one way to express your femininity than bearing children. Perhaps you mentor young persons or have a special way with older citizens. It took me 6 years to have my first child - it is a long and interesting story, which includes seeing my son under a microscope as an embryonic 8 cell clump. Or maybe he was that 4 cell embryo floating nearby. Either way, I saw him at that stage of development, and when I look at him as a quadrillion-celled perfect boy now, it never fails to blow me away. Since my knee is hurting, I think I will be going for a long walk today instead of a run. Good runs all!

Happy mom's day, and thank you, Vista. I absolutely LOVE being a mother. My daughter Kira is 15, and she's exactly the kind of kid I hoped for. She's smart, caring, funny, sweet, and to top it off, she wants to be an engineer like me! We're going for a hike today, to the same trail we do every mother's day. I'll also fit in a run, either before or after the hike. Even though being a mom is a lot of work, it's more than worth it.

Happy mothers day! Our 20 and 23 yo DD's came home and we celebrated yesterday cause DD1 is headed to Fla for a week vacation with her BF's family. It was great! Today... GARMIN DIED AT MILE 14!!! Can't turn it off no buttons work except the reset which brings back a static screen. Bu it was really IRC and I had a really nice run. First 2.2 with Tory then through the trails another 8 then steady rain in the low 50's for the 8 back home. I found out that it is hard to run uphill on wet clay !! I guess this is our version of ice. 18.2 miles in about 2:50:00 (about 9:20 pace) I'm running with my cap on and it is coming down steady. I pass a guy who finished his run and is standing in the pouring rain drinking some sports drink. I say "This is perfect" he says "Isn't it great!".... only runners...