Sally O'Malley Day is finally here...

So if you don't understand the reference of my title for this blog entry...Google it.

Anyway, as I reach this milestone in my life I continue to reflect on one main thing...the gracious hand of God on my life. I love birthdays and this one is pretty significant, but the way I look at them as changed dramatically over the years, as well as the attitude of my celebration. You see, I used to look forward to birthdays because it was a day to celebrate me. Isn't that what our flesh desires? Give me attention, give me presents, send me birthday wishes in a card or on Facebook....it is all very encouraging and I do appreciate the thoughtfulness of others. So thanks to all.

But, when I think of the life giving breathe that I received on June 16, 1961 and the spirit-filled breathe of life that I received 10 years later, and the continued care and guidance the Lord provides, I look at this day as a special day to praise the Almighty King for all that He has done...

He has redeemed by wretched soul. He has washed away my sin! He has called me into His kingdom to inherit his great riches as His child! Wow!

He has blessed me with joy, happiness, sorrow & pain in these past 5 decades.

He gave me a family to grow up in, with many happy memories. He allowed me to grow up without a father and asked me to depend on Him as my only Father.

He has allowed me to serve him in many different capacities. First as a wife to the most wonderful husband any woman could ever ask for! Then as a mother to 5 absolutely beautiful children who now call Him savior. I have wonderful kids who love the Lord-right there, who could ask for more? Yet He gives me more! The fantastic years of raising a family, so many fun and fond memories! But also some difficult seasons. He asked me to depend on Him and trust Him when the days were tough, frustrating or painful.
Through joyous seasons, success & silliness and also through sickness, and rebellion and death. He has remained faithful... Oh, I am blessed.

And then there are grandchildren, what a wondrous love. Some days I just can't stand it, I'm so overwhelmed with the delight of these little lives. Blessed indeed.

He has given me a passion for serving him in His church, with students and camp and wherever!

The privilege of having wonderful friends, people to do life with.

He has allowed me to continue to run...not fast mind you. But I still run.

So you see, this life I get to live is nothing without Him and all that I receive in it is because of Him and His faithfulness and goodness. So I will celebrate, not "ME" but celebrate the God who created me, called me, redeemed me, washed me, saved me, changes me and will one day...glorify me to be with Him.

It is for His glory that I celebrate 50 years on this earth! Woo Hoo! and thank you Lord! It was a Happy Birthday!

10 on 10.10.10

In keeping with the “10” theme, I decided to post a note describing my top 10 emotions during the Chicago Marathon 2010.

10
Sleepy…
Riding a bike down Michigan Ave. at 4:00 am is pretty amazing, I mean, there is no one on the streets..a few cars but nobody walking around, what a cool experience. It was a great start to a great day. However, as the morning progressed I wanted to lie down and close my eyes. Waking up at 3:30 in the morning is really early.

9
Apprehensive…
As the morning wore on and it was already 65 degrees I couldn’t help but think of Chi Marathon 2007 and what a miserable experience that was in the heat. What would today be like??

8
Excitement…
We got to the start corrals with the thousands of people squished around us who were gearing up for the same experience, it is exhilarating! You definitely can’t have personal space issues and be in this crowd. The music was blaring and the dude who sang the national anthem was amazing. The race starts and the masses move forward…ever so slowly, then you’re off!! (25 minutes after the gun goes off)

7
Sorrow…
I get very emotional during the marathon, partly because of the immensity of the race and partly my bodies reaction when I run. As I would pass people who were running for ill family members or kids with cancer, I would get so choked up. When I saw the guy who was running in full fireman’s gear on behalf of Make-A-Wish I almost lost it. What a sap I am.
Plus, looking around at the thousands of runners, I’m wondering how many are lost among them, I’m sure there are hundreds and I’m saddened by the mass of humanity that has rejected Christ and are lost…so sad. I silently pray for them all.

6
Joy…
Pure joy as the sun is coming up and I am running through the most beautiful city in the world and I see God’s creation and goodness around me and I’m still physically able to participate in this event, wow! JOY is definitely how I feel!


5
Thankful…
As we get to mile 4 & 11 we see family and friends who came to support us. We are truly blessed. (I only wished I could have seen Dan there but I am still thankful because I knew he was praying for me).
Also, thankful for Candace who jumped in and ran 6 miles of the race with me especially because the section out to the United Center and by Malcolm X College sucks!
Thankful that the Lord blessed my daughters with two wonderful young men, both were so helpful to their wives and to me!
Thankful that Madeline had a great attitude even though I made her get up at 3:30 a.m. and volunteer at Grant Park.

4
Annoyance…
Unfortunately I felt this emotion on several occasions… I sometimes wish I could write a runner’s book of etiquette, which I may do one day. But seriously, when the course is super crowded and walkers or run/walkers stop right in front of me. Argh I want to just TAKE THEM OUT! Along with that, there are those who eject their snot-rockets and fluggeys right in front of me (gross) and the guys who sweat so bad there body fluid is spraying me as I run by or they move over just as I’m passing by and their sweaty arm touches mine..(Double gross). Then there are the people in the crowd who step onto the course and I have to swerve around them. Okay, enough venting!

3
Guilt…
Although Danielle and I had an agreement that this year if one of us had issues, me with the porta-potty and her with the pukes, we would feel free to separate and finish on our own. I still felt like a jerk of a mom when Danielle started vomiting at mile 11 and I left her in the care of her husband. (Her body rejects fluids in the heat, poor thing).

2
Frustration…
I was right on target to get a PR even in the heat and after I crossed 94 by Cellular Field I hit the WALL. Not a real wall, that would have been funny, but the proverbial runner’s wall that no matter how much your mind wants you to run faster you body will not cooperate. My feet were killing me and my legs were like jello. The heat had taken its toll. I willed myself to keep going. Those last three miles seemed like an eternity.

1
Pure RELIEF…
Crossing the finish line is always an emotional experience but I was so relieved to cross over and get that medal placed around my neck. It was over! Whew! Then as I got my bag from gear check, got my phone and called Danielle. I didn’t know where she was; did she have to drop out? Was she in an ER somewhere? Was she still out there running and puking? She answered her phone in tears, yes she was still running, she couldn’t hold anything down, she was miserable but she was okay. Joseph stayed with her the last 15 miles of the race. (What a guy!) She finished… oh, was I RELEIVED!!

So marathon #6 is in the books, it was a great day and although the weather was not ideal, we made it through.
4 months of training, capped off by an amazing day at the 2010 Chicago Marathon. Now I just recover and get ready to run a half marathon with my girls on Halloween. I'm glad I've got three weeks to recover.
The future, well I'm registering for New York City Marathon 2011, hopefully I'll get in for next November's race. As of today, I don't plan on running Chicago 2011.

Cool Runnings

No, not a blog about Jamaican bob sledding...but a tribute to the beginning of my lifelong passion for running. Let me clarify that I am by no means a Steve Prefontaine wannabe, but I have committed to the "sport" of running consistently until the day that the Lord says STOP RUNNING ALREADY! But He hasn't yet so I keep running.

Let's go back to the beginning...I am one of the very first beneficiaries of Title IX. For those who don't know what this is, well it is basically our country recognizing equality in education for women, which meant that for every dollar spent on men/boys in academics and athletics, the same amount must be spent on women/girls. (Congress passed the bill on June 8, 1972. President Nixon signed Title IX into law on June 23, and it became effective on July 1, 1972.) I was in elementary school when this was passed and I remember what a big deal it was. As I entered Junior High the law had fully impacted our school system and there was finally funding for girls athletics in our schools. I was able to be a three sport athlete in our school and we had brand new uniforms in all sports.

So in the Spring of 1974 I went out for the track team. I wanted to be a sprinter. Come on, everyone wants to be a sprinter. I wasn't fast enough so, I ran distance. I could tell many horror stories about our track practices. Our coach wanted to be a boys baseball coach and had to settle for coaching girls sports. He decided to coach us like boys which was unheard of in the 70's. "Girls can't run as far as boys." "They are weak." "They will collapse if you push them too hard." These were common thoughts during this era. Well, we didn't collapse, as a matter of fact, we blossomed. That year I got the opportunity to run in the high school district track meet as a 6th grader. I ran the mile in 5 minutes 57 seconds. (Don't laugh) I qualified for the State Meet. Our team won the State Championship that year. It was pretty cool.

The next 4 seasons were pretty uneventful and I got to a point where I hated running. I hated the New Mexico spring winds that would blow the sand in your face. I would have a mouth full of dirt and my skin felt like needles were drilled into it. I hated it when we were loaded up in the back of the coaches truck and driven out into the country and dropped off. We were then expected to run the 8, 10, or 11 miles back to the high school. I hated the feeling before a race because I was expected to run faster than I did the race before but couldn't .

I decided not to run track my senior year which really aggravated the coach but I was burnt out.

The next year in college I was at first thrilled with the independence and the freedom from sports, from practice, from running, until I realized that the college life had added 20 quick pounds to my 5'4" frame. I reluctantly started running again. I would go out early in the mornings before classes and before I knew it, I figured out that this was my thing. I really liked running. I liked the way it made me feel. I liked the alone time and the way I could think through issues in my life while I ran. I like the physical effects. Running was my friend.

Through the years of having my children I still kept running. It was my way to get away and take care of myself. I attribute my physical health and energy to running. (I continue to praise God for allowing me to run) When Kyle got sick and I spent weeks on end at Children's Memorial I would bring my running clothes and go for a run when he was sleeping. It was very therapeutic and it was so healthy for me to get out of that hospital for a few minutes at a time. After Kyle died I would go out to run and mourn. There were days when the grieving would be so heavy that I'm sure I freaked several people out as I would run and cry and heal and pray and praise and run and cry!

Twelve years ago I decided to do something I always wanted to do but never really believed I could, I wanted to run a marathon. It was one of the most surreal and amazing experiences of my life. I cried when I crossed the finish line and like I said already, I give God the glory for that accomplishment and for every time I lace up my shoes and go out to run. I get my best time with the Lord during a long run and I come up with some of my best & creative ideas while I'm running.

I know that it could end in a second...I could get inured, I could get hit by a bus, I could get sick, but we will cross that bridge when and if it happens. I just know that for now when I get up tomorrow I can run.

Louis Neal Howell

That is my dad's name. I don't know much about my dad, he wasn't a big part of my life. I have thought about him much more frequently over the past few months. I think it's because now that we have Ethan in our lives and we get to be called Grandparents it has really made me think how much my children missed out with not having a grandfather.




Well, one of the things I remember about my dad was that he was in and out of VA hospitals most of my childhood. I also remember that when my mom would visit him in the hospital we would hang out in the lawn area of the hospital for what seemed an eternity as a kid. We were not allowed in the hospital. I hated those days.

You see, my dad struggled with depression, but on top of that he was involved in a serious car accident when he was in the Navy. His face was severed and he suffered slight brain damage. When I was almost 9 he was finally successful in his quest for death.
I got home on the bus after school and the thing I remember most about that hot May day was that I just wanted to get inside the house out of the heat. The front door was locked so as I went around to check the back door I heard my grandpa coming down the road. I was about 10 seconds away from walking around the corner of the house to see my dad on the ground with his brain matter splattered all over the outside of the house. Yes God was actively working in my life that day. I can't imagine how that image would have scarred my young life.



So the years following my dad's suicide were difficult to say the least. I questioned on many occasions why God would allow us to live in this home without a dad, there was a lot of anger after he left. Why were things so tough? Well I can testify that God brings about good for those who love Him! The Lord has used that tragedy to shape my life for His good purpose and has blessed many in many ways.

One of the blessings I have received is that my siblings and I were all able to attend college on the GI Bill because of my dad's military accident. With our very limited income, we would have never been able to pay for college. New Mexico State University is where I met a very handsome football star and well, the rest as they say is history...

Who Cares?

You know, I've read several blogs and have read what people have to say. Some are very interesting and others...meh.. I've also thought, wow, how self-centered do you have to be to post a blog. But, I have recently had a change of heart when an elderly women came into the physical therapy clinic where I work and briefly shared with one of my coworkers about her life. It seems that this sweet and soft spoken Polish women is a Holocaust survivor. Her dad was in the Polish Resistance and died when she was a young girl. He was killed at Auschwitz. Ummm, WOW! She didn't have time to tell her more about her life except to add that her husband died a couple of years after they were married leaving her with two young children. I wanted to know more. I thought, I wish she had a blog to let people know about her life, her struggles, victories, happiness, pain, etc... I hope to engage with her soon to hear more firsthand. We'll see.

That brings me to this inaugural blog...I have shared stories from my life to people but I've never recorded anything in type, not that my life stories are as dramatic and meaningful as a Holocaust Survivor but who knows, in another 50 years someone may find it interesting and maybe helpful. So, that is my goal and we will see how this goes...