victory-paris marathon 2010 11 april

twas a chilly,sunny,chatty and excited household that woke up to the nervous challenge of the upcoming marathon.Armed with tiaras and skirts and bags and maps ,some in quiet contemplation,others munching away at their coco pops,they suddenly piled into the car and were off,not to be seen ,except fleetingly for the next five hours-at first waving arms ,happy and jolly,-and gradually the feet that bit slower,the smile replaced by a grimace and gritted determination by jerina,and a supportive brother-hero skip by her brother.
Friends played their role magnificently (university,boyfriends,schoolfriends,my friends)trying to follow the route,catch up ,wave the flag,shout and scream ,move on to the next point.One friend,Lindsay,was there for the whole world,encouraging canadians,French,spanish,Brits you name it and she would call out their name and they would wave back (although some found doing that made them a bit wobbly!!)
Anxiety did set in a couple of times when it seemed everybody had passed us by except our two heroes.Really quite elderly people had passed,a man on stilts,four men pushing a barrel of bordeaux wine,a woman who looked like she was swimming,a man who seemed covered in bandages and wasn` going to take another step,yet no sign of our two.Then just when we were giving each other looks that dare not say what we were dreading-they would appear,and a roar of relief would render the Paris air.It took five and a half hours-but no matter,what a feat.Jerina was in tears and Jack screaming for a beer as he had been "dry" for two weeks,and had promised himself that reward.We all gathered together for some photos,(which i will post as and when )and then said our goodbyes and with some relief,wended our way home.
If anything from this marathon ,i have learned a great lesson.I have been enormously impressed by the young people who have shown a sense of responsibility ,of teamwork ,of camaraderie and respect,whether it was by simply donating or physical presence and encouragement.Thank you.
I have learned humility that some people can be caring and give help even though their own lives seem so much more blessed than my own,but mostly I am exceptionally blessed that I have two children ,who ,despite their bickering and sibling rivalry,will always be there for each other.They have shown me this physically by doing this marathon together for their mum -as if to say,"don`t worry mum,no matter what happens to you-we will be o.k.Promise.And what more could a mum want to know?
Thank you to you all who have in any way participated in this event with me.I shall carry on blogging as long as i am physically able so do take a look now and again.