On The Run - 1/22/09

What? You thought I would let double brain surgery on my 5-month-old keep me from running?

Actually, there was a couple of items at home that we wanted so I got permission to get in a run on the way to and fro. I decided a run along the ocean would fit the bill after today. Mission Beach was on the way and I hadn't been there in a while so . . .

A couple of weeks ago we actually ran out of money. Weeeelllll . . . . that's not entirely true. The wife had a $5 bill and I had half a jar of change - 3 days before payday. I figured we probably had about $20 in change and a half-a-tank of gas so we just might make it. As luck would have it, we did make it and still had a big zip-lock of change on the floor of the car.

For the past few days I have been meaning to take the change in to the grocery store to dump it in one of those counting machines. That or either put it back in the jar (It's not like I am going to buy $20 worth of groceries with change unless I absolutely have to). Alas, on the floor of the car it has remained.

As I was stretching beside the car before my run, a panhandler came up with his dawg and asked for change. I handed him the entire bag and wished him a "Happy Brain Surgery Day!".

He was so astonished at the bag of change that he did not catch what I had said, thanked me profusely and walked away.

A man who had just finished his run came up to me afterwards and said, "Man, that guy has been hittin' everyone in this parking lot up for change - he probably has more money than we do."

"My 5-month old daughter had double brain surgery today and came through with flying colors" I replied.

The man's face went slack and a look of incomprehension spread across it.

"I haven't a care in the world and I am in a giving mood", I summed up for him.

He got it, smiled and said "I get it. I feel ya."

The run was hard but I didn't care. It had been a while since I had been to Mission Beach and when I got to the pier (in the picture above) I remembered exactly how long.

It was this long ago.


At the time, we had been told that Annabelle would not likely survive more than a few hours after birth and that day at Mission Beach, we were thinking that these may be the only family photos we were going to get.

Talk about a poignant moment today . . .

We are so so so so so grateful, thankful, overjoyed by our little champ and today felt like another victorious title bout (to use a boxing term).

Thank you thank you thank you for all your prayers and support. I don't think we would be where we are were it not for them.

(BTW - no stats this time as I left the gizmo in the car in the parking structure two blocks away . . . as if the stats even matter . . .)