Mom and Dad's experience in Boston

If you follow me on social media, whether it be facebook, insta, or twitter.. it has been no secret that my sweet parents were in Boston this past week. Ever since my mom fell in love with running it has been her dream to qualify for Boston. Finally this past year she was able to qualify and entered into the pool of Boston runners. Up until a few weeks ago, being able to actually go to Boston wasn't in the financial plans, but thankfully some things changed and she and my dad were able to go!

We were all so excited for her and were anxious to hear how the race went. On Sunday night I tried to call my mom to wish her luck, but she denied my call! Of all the nerve! My dad immediately called me and told me that she was a ball of nerves and was an 'anxious wreck'. (This is pretty typical for my mom for any race she runs, so I could only imagine how bad it really must have been!) I told my dad to wish her well and to keep me posted the next morning.

The next morning I woke up to a few pictures of mom at the starting line etc.. and I was slightly confused why she had her phone. Mom NEVER runs with a phone. I shrugged it off and to work I went. We got a marathon update saying she had finished, but didn't hear anything official from either of my parents. Dad decided to go to the Red Sox game during the marathon, and figured he would head to the finish line around the time my mom typically finished (4:00). Well the time came, and while he was walking over to the finish line my mom called him and told him she had finished with an incredible time. They decided to meet up to take pics and such. As my dad was walking the thought came to him that the finish line area would be so crowded and that he should walk one block up from the finish line. As he approached the corner where he could turn towards the finish line he heard two big 'booms'. My dad is a very observant man and his first thought was to text us kids.... "you will hear about something that happened at the finish line of the marathon. talked to mom in texts before and she is okay. just trying to find her. more cops than I have ever seen. smell of smoke etc." Talk about a freaky text! I immediately googled what might be going on and only one small tweet came up.. tells you how quick my dad texted me! We texted back and forth for awhile and although we were freaked out, I was so happy to know that at least my mom had been okay. I was just worried something else was going to happen after the fact.

A few hours later I was able to talk to my mom and surprisingly she was very positive and upbeat. Although there had been such a terrible tragedy, she had a wonderful experience and was proud that she was able to finish the race with such a great time! She felt blessed that her running friends had been detained because of crowds while walking to the finish line to watch her finish. She felt blessed that she  PR'd and that she could be safe with my dad in the hotel room.

As we talked she told me that the night before she was a complete nervous wreck. She was so anxious and worried about how to get where she needed to go, what to wear, what to take etc, that she just felt physically sick. Finally she decided to go in the bathroom and say a prayer. She prayed that she would know what to do so that she felt prepared and at ease. The next morning, she was talking with my dad about whether or not she should take her phone. She wanted to take it so she could photograph the route etc, but realized how unpractical it was. For some reason she decided to put her phone in her running belt and off she went. It was such a blessing that she had her phone so that she could stay in communication with my dad. I can't imagine how panicked my dad would have been with out being able to talk to her! I could already tell through his texts that he was worried, but was comforted by the fact he had been able to talk to her. We were also glad that my dad decided to walk ONE block up, rather than fight his way toward the finish line on the route. Who knows what would have actually happened, but we can assume that it could have been a more grim outcome.

We are so grateful for the many blessings our Heavenly Father protected my parents with. I am also beyond grateful for the love and support of all my friends who expressed concern for my cute mom and dad. I realized just how great social media can be and was comforted by all your kind words! Thank you thank you thank you!