Sounds a little like when my son said "This is the best Snow Day Ever!" Usually Mother's day entails a long road trip to visit family but this year we stayed around here and knew we would way in advance. Last week my husband texted me saying --U R running a 10k on Sunday, Happy Mother's Day!

Think I'm kidding? Well, I'm not! Much to my surprise it was very real, got a registration confirmation email and everything. While it was inspiring to know my husband had faith in my ability to run it, who wants to wake up and be at the starting line for a race on this supposedly relaxing day, right?!

Well needless to say I was not a happy mommy at 5:30 am on Mother's Day morning. But, I must say my 5 year old Troy walked right into my bedroom 1/2 asleep with a new coffee mug he made me filled to the top w/ coffee. As he stood next to my bed saying time for your race mommy, here is your coffee, I couldn't help but smile at his ability to be standing at that moment while spilling 1/2 the cup on my bedroom floor :) After a grouchy ride to the Heroes 1/2 Marathon and 10k in Everett, a little drizzle woke me up and I was off. One hour, 12 min. later I crossed the line with my kido by my side, what a rewarding experience. As we got home I was ordered by my boys to go back to bed b/c ....that is easy to do after you are on runners-high right? lol! A short while later, brkfst in bed, and then Troy's Football game......NICE because Troy promised he'd score a touchdown for me b/c it was Mother's Day and he did!
This year I walk away from this special day a different gal. I no longer want to battle having well behaved kids at a nice restaurant for brunch, while keeping a baby content. Instead, I realized all I really need to make it "The Best Mother's Day Ever" is  to let my family do what they want to do for me, even if it is to sign me up for a race, wake me up at 5:30 am or make me sleep in the middle of the morning ;) Hope ya'll enjoyed your special day as well.

As cliche as this expression may sound, it can hold true many-a-times in our lives yet, there are always those exceptions. The ones that are with you through it all. They see the good, the bad, the ugly and above it all, they tolerate it and love you for who you are.
Through the years I have held a close group of friends, some which I have known since Jr. High, others from college, and  have even been blessed enough to even pick up a few more along the route of adulthood. 

While many friends or accuaintances may come and go as the seasons, they are always in your life for a reason at that particular moment in time. Whether it is for support, for laughs, to be an ear, or maybe even for companionship, we must hold them dear in our hearts for what they did for us in our time of friendship. 

For those that stay with you, grow with you, change with you, and come back to you time and time again, despite differences in lives, nurture, and love these and support them always. 

Just the other day one of my dearest friends and I shared a conversation that I never thought we would have, it was one of a friend needing true guidance, and encouragment for something they never thought they would experience. And while she has always heard me say "everything in life happens for a reason" it was great to know that these simple constant words of encourgement gave her the ray of sunshine she was needing. 

With this, I would like to say the following: True friends are a like a "fine flower" pick them wisely and let them know how beautiful they are to you. 

Each of the women below are those that I hold dear to my heart. Thank you ladies for being you, and for letting me be me and for always supporting not only me but my family as well.
         

         
 

A phrase that can have much meaning in many different ways wouldn't you agree? Running from the law! ......j/k! But seriously, some people run from relationships, others run from problems, emotions or confrontation and others simply run to just run.
Now why on Earth would anyone want to run for fun, really, if it was fun then we'd all do it right? Okay, so last summer my husband took on a new hobby, running and completed 2 full marathons. His reward, a meesly "I run 26.2" T-shirt that he proudly wears! .......oh and a couple of rockin' medals........lol!

Needless to say he became really passionate about running and now has 5 marathons planned for this season. Feeling like my kids are my life, I too began to contemplate a hobby and.......well lets just say that I feel guilty spending time away from the kids for selfish reasons so, I figured if he does it, I can too.
The end result: Casey has now signed me up for the Seattle Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon and with this commitment I motivated myself to run this morning. What a great feeling of accomplishment because trust me, I am not built like a runner!
While the 1/2 marathon is a big goal, I have a reward set for myself as well, the Warrior Dash! Ever heard of it?....google it, looks like a blast! If you are interested in joining a Metro Woman Warrior team, call me or email me: 425-330-7943, hazel.borden@seattlemetrowoman.com

Just this morning as I was watching the Today show, a very interesting topic caught my attention. Women and our tendancies to say "SORRY."
Have you ever found yourself apologizing for something that you did not do, just out of pure respect to the other party? Well, many times we apologize even more to strangers and friends than we do to our own family memebers. How can this be possible?
Here is a good scenario: You are walking with a stranger coming towards you and as they are not paying attention to where they are going, for laughs lets say "text walkers," then they bump into you. Many of us would be quick to say "I'm sorry" eventhough it was the other person's fault. Sound familiar?
Most recently I encountered a personal situation with a "friend" where no blame or fault was made however one person's feelings were hurt over  the way a situation about our kids was handled. This must really be sounding familiar to you moms out there!

 To make a long story short and to keep as much privacy as possible, lets just say that I found myself apologizing for something that neither I nor my kid did wrong, and yet thought to myself my goodness had it been the other way around this "friend" would have approached it the same way. My female instinct of apologetic regurgitation kicked in and I profusely apologized for the way that the situation made her feel, only to find out that I was now "de-friended" on FB! Double Whammy wouldn't you say?
Kids will be kids and misunderstandings are bound to happen, but it is our female etiquette that will help us get through and either let us learn to accept apologies or move ahead without looking back.
What Apologetic Scenarios can you share?

All of us have several types of realtionships that make up our lives, our personas and our characters; marriage, family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances and so on. Many times we take these relationships for granted, but other times we nurture them and try to heal and reconcile them for various reasons. Other times we abandon them and just give up, but when relationships outgrow themselves, sometimes it is just better to let them go all-together.
Why is it that when we finally put aside differences and try to move on, there is always still hurt and resentment? Is it because we are women? or....is it because this is the way that all of us humans are? Seems to me like men just let things blow over and many women don't know how to do just that.
I will be the first to admit that when I am really hurt, I can forgive but typically takes me longer to completely forget than not. But.......when I do put it past me, I put it past me for good. If we all learned to communicate more effectively with each other, many more relationships would be saved right?
What are your most recent experiences with relationships?