Ten women

Today was Mother's Day; and what a wonderful day it was! Matt and his family were in town for the Tacoma Marathon. Matt had planned for a long time to run this marathon, but he hurt his back moving a piano, which threw his training schedule off, and made it impossible for him to run the marathon. However, he did run the 10K race with Gina. Although it was very easy for Matt (he ended up running to our house from the finish line), he enjoyed the very rare opportunity of running with Gina in a race.

With Matt's family visiting us, and Travis & Jaqui staying with us for a while, it was great to have the entire family here in town at the same time. It gave me a chance to ponder the importance of the women in my life. There are ten of them. A mom who trained me up in the way I should be. She was always there for me and sacrificed everything for me and my siblings. A wife who is, along with the gospel, the best thing that has ever happened to me, and to whom I owe everything. I can't imagine my life without her. It seems that we have been best friends as long as I can remember, even though it has only been 33 years. Four daughters-in-law, who are perfect complements to our sons. I love them as much as I love my sons, and consider them to be as my own daughters. I also appreciate the fact that I can enjoy them as grown women and didn't have to deal with them through those emotional teenage years. Finally, there are four grand-daughters, who are the cutest and most enjoyable girls in the world (at least to me). They are so sweet and innocent, and I hope and pray they will remain that way. With the parents they have, they have as good a chance as anybody.

The joy of the day was tempered, however, in the fact that dad went in to the hospital with congestive heart failure. That is a condition in which the heart is not pumping out enough blood as the body needs. Although he will most likely make it through this, it will only worsen with time. He has lived a good life, and he is one of the great ones to whom I owe everything.