i am proud of him..

mark is running his second marathon this saturday through the amazing city of DC.  he has spent the last 6 months diligently training for this event.  anyone, who loves someone, who is committed to sport of marathon, knows that BOTH parties are making HUGE sacrifices. with this knowledge in hand, mark does an excellent job checking in with me about his running schedule to make sure that, first and foremost, it fits into our family routine. because of his sensitivity to the situation i have only had to ask him to step down from running on one occasion.  there were LOTS of occasions that i didn't want him to go run, but that was a pure, self serving reason.  i enjoy watching mark accomplish his runs. i LOVE the energy that he has after he runs. i love knowing that he is ultimately taking care of his body for our family. that makes saying ,"YES!" a lot easier.

i am SO proud mark. i am SO proud of his determination and his diligence. i am proud of the sacrifices he has made to meet another goal. ladies, if you have not figured this out yet, men need goals. men then need to accomplish those goals for personal satisfaction and affirmation. i can tell mark he is a great runner, but finishing a marathon builds a confidence in mark, which is encouraged and grows by my words of affirmation. the opposite is true, if i spend the whole training season grumbling and complaining about his goals, then the marathon is far less encouraging and promotes less growth in mark.

one of my favorite roles as wife, is cheerleader! i am mark's biggest fan. i can not wait to watch him cross the finish line yet again. fully knowing what it has taken to get him there. i am proud of him. i am proud of myself too, for not having had complete meltdowns and temper tantrums ( too many times that is :).

if you think of it, PLEASE, PLEASE pray for mark (and jonathan and bethany franklin) as he runs on saturday at 7AM. pray for protection, strength, determination, and a strong finish.

~here is to my sweet, sweet husband!!

first marathon!

~s