Today our eldest daughter participated in a half marathon in a neighboring town. It was a cold and icy morning though the roads were bare in our area and the sunrise was lovely if a little tentative. It is hard to get up most mornings but especially difficult on a dark winter Sunday morning when everyone else gets to sleep in. She had laid out all her clothes the night before and wasn't really looking forward to the run but was committed. I drove her to the meeting place and left her in the capable hands of her BUILD leaders and teachers.
Getting back home, I was mad at myself for not being more organized to register in time and accompany our daughter on the walk. I could certainly use the exercise! We do so much together though that I worry about her independence. Years of seizure activity and the accompanying anxiety have relentlessly kept me at her side. She is now a year seizure free and we both need to learn to step away from each other sometimes. It is difficult for both of us.
It being icy, our daughter fell and had trouble getting up again. Of course there were many friendly female hands to help her up again and encourage her to keep going. She linked arms with one of her leaders and finished the marathon, proud of her medal if a little sore. I was so glad to know that she was able to do this run, not without help, but independently, without me. These are baby steps for both of us, away from each other. In her case it was about twelve thousand steps but I was thrilled to hear about every one of them.
