Happy Photo-Friday, my friends!! ❤ Just catching up on all the pictures today (and in every other post I write, as I take a crazy-high number of photos). lol
Kristin and I went for a lovely walk on Wednesday night, then we shared a pizza at Hideaway! It was great to be outside on my favorite familiar walking track with zero foot pain - praise the Lord! Then we had a good, long talk over dinner where I felt *very thankful* to be understood in all my irrational escapism tendencies during a stressful season with a lot of unknowns swirling around. We caught up on life and talked through some big future decisions, and she came at it from the perspective of what I might regret looking back, which was helpful and clarifying! Really talking through it all made me feel better, as it almost always does when I'm with supportive friends!
Another thing we discussed was the tragic drownings that happened recently in Moore (caused by severe flooding at night that led to a car accident and a mom and son who could not get out of their Jeep). The 12-year-old boy went to school with Kristin's sons, and this accident happened at a spot that's literally between our homes, very close to us. I drove by yesterday and stopped there for a few minutes thinking about how rapidly our lives can change.
Judge had an all-day training conference, so I had the chance to catch up on sleep (yes, please) and to visit the OKC National Memorial Museum for the first time (we got a free entry pass as part of our digital gift-bag for race participants). I have seen the outdoor memorial several times - it's all well done with the reflecting pool and 168 empty chairs with the each victim's name set between the walls labeled 9:01 and 9:03. As an Oklahoman, 9:02am is forever etched in my brain from that event.
I had never toured the museum, though, so I'm thankful to have remedied that now. I always feel a little freer to feel my emotions when I'm on my own, and this was more emotional than I'd expected - I teared up several times going through the museum. They had the TV news from 1995 playing, with certain scenes that feel like crystallized memories from my 5th grade year.
I spent some time thinking about how long it took them to confirm the deaths of specific people - and how hard that wait would have been for their family members.
Something unexpected that really hit me as a court reporter -- you start out in a quiet room where they play an unsettling recording -- an otherwise boring hearing from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (located directly across from the Federal Building). This recording from the morning of April 19, 1995 was no doubt made by a court reporter going about her day as usual with a standard hearing 9:00am... they ramble about inconsequential things for a couple minutes, then there's a very LOUD explosion sound followed by a lot of chaos and confusion, all recorded and well-preserved (just as it would be in any courtroom with a CSR). Somehow, hearing the very familiar "let's go on record" at the beginning made it all feel even heavier and more intense to me!
There were survivor stories, photos, footage of news clips from around the world, artifacts recovered from the rubble, and a gallery of honor where you can learn more about the victims and their stories. There was also a lot of space devoted to the criminal investigation and eventual execution of Timothy McVeigh - I really didn't focus much attention on that part of it, but I'm sure it's fascinating for some people.
Back outside, I really love the Survivor Tree - a strong symbol of hope and resilience!! "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us." That quote from Billy Graham at a prayer service following the bombing is engraved on the wall surrounding the Survivor Tree - I love it, and wish it was on the t-shirt I bought! I'm thankful I took this quiet day to be there and soak it all in before the chaos of the massive race day crowd... they had over 22,000 runners last year, and I'm guessing it'll be more for this 25th Anniversary run!
This is a statue across the street from the Memorial with the simple inscription, "And Jesus Wept."
Seeing the culvert in Moore + the museum and outdoor memorial was all a sobering but worthwhile experience.
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Shifting gears, here's a pic from 15 years ago on this very day -- JoBug and Lucy coming to support me in the 2010 OKC Relay Marathon I ran with Bobbi and co.
She's going to be my hero on Sunday... they have good family friends who live in Nichols Hills who have a drink machine and go all out to support the runners on race day. They live around Mile 17 in the course, and I get to stop in and use their bathroom (yaaay, no Porta-Potties) -- so I have a bag packed with everything I could possibly need for a quick bathroom break and sock change! I'm also giving Kristin a few things for when I see them earlier in the course, so between those two mini-breaks, I should be all set! Side Note: This year is the first time they've not offered a Relay Marathon team option... and the first year it reeeeally mattered to me. How fun would it have been to have Dad, JEM, Kristin, Triston, and Chet join me for portions of the race!? But instead, it'll be me and Jesus all the way, which is also a pretty good team! lol
This = our fam celebrating April birthdays at The Ranch exactly one year ago today. ❤
At the recommendation of Dr. Aaron, an awesome physical therapist at The Movement Lab in Edmond, I took a short run to see how my foot felt yesterday. I did a 30-minute Peloton class doing 6:1 intervals the whole time. My foot felt GREAT, and I had good energy the whole time -- after hobbling to my car near tears 12 days ago, this felt like a solid redemptive experience as my final pre-race "run!" I believe it's going to go well on Sunday - I'm feeling more confident and fully determined to give it my best shot!
Make that a light *rain jacket* for today, but I'm all for it if that means I can stay dry on Sunday! lol
Parker and her fam on her 4th b-day!!
Awesomesauce Disney-princess-themed cookiecake by Karli!
Favorites - their monthly podcast episode brings me great joy!
Miss K hitting a 3-pointer in their uber-competitive game of HORSE!
Kyndal: You wanna play too?
Me: No thanks, I'm not very good at volleyball.
Kyndal: Oh, that's okay - Mom's not either!
Lolol #false but also #buuurnDavid
I came in to grab a drink, and it made me happy to see everyone on Mom and Dad's cameras...
Naturally, I made us all pose for a very low-quality camera pic using the app on mom's phone! lol
Since that family dinner on Tuesday night, Dad got some sort of hand injury that looks super rough... he has no memory of hurting it, so I'm guessing it was a spider bite -- eww, David! Hoping the antibiotics kick into gear, and praying for quick and smooth healing for him!
Rach and K-Faith at the Lone Star Classic volleyball tournament a few weeks back - I didn't get the pic until later, so here it is now! ❤
Love this reminder...
Another good reminder. Peace matters, and rest is our friend.
Life can be a lot, but God is faithful!
The brochure at the Memorial Museum yesterday had the title "A Day of Darkness. Years of Light." I love that - this post also felt like an interesting mix of light and dark, so I went with my favorite line from She Walks in Beauty for the title. This is my eighth blog post this week... writing helps me process life, and I've had a lot to process lately. If you choose to read along, thank you for joining me! I'm headed to packet pickup with Mom this afternoon - fun! I'll see you again on Monday if not before. =)
❤ ❤ ❤
