Four years ago today, my wife gave birth to our only daughter, Ava, completing our family. I know birthdays are about the kids, but to me, it’s about Tiff. She put her body through a lot growing our babies. A marathon — heck, 60 marathons — doesn’t come close to comparing on the difficulty scale to growing a human being!
So, I bought these for Tiff last night and surprised her with them this morning.
Chicks dig the flowers thing.
I always do that for the kids’ birthdays. It’s the least I can do!
I never really talk about Ava in here, but she totally owns me. Tiff says she looks like me, which is kind of a bummer. Who wants to look like me? But I guess it’s appropriate, because she’s a total daddy’s girl. She knows how to play me, and I think it’s going to get worse and worse as she gets older. She says the cutest little things and I just dig her.
Me and my princess at the happiest place on Earth … In-N-Out!
Poor little thing is sick today. If she gets a little better, we’re going to go out to Red Robin for dinner so she can have fun and have the waiters and waitresses sing Happy Birthday to her. At the end of the day, I’ll sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her at bedtime. That’s our song. Maybe I should try to find a song called “Daddy I Promise I’ll Be 4 Forever And Never Grow Up And Date Anybody” to sing to her.
Standard introduction: If this is your first visit here, I’m a marathoner and a father of three — but not in that order. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and next year I’m planning on running 60 marathons in his honor to try to raise money and nationwide awareness for Train 4 Autism, a wonderful charity.
Operation Jack: Next Month!
On Sunday, I started realizing it’s November, and I can actually say that I’m flying out to my first Operation Jack race NEXT MONTH! It’s still about eight weeks away, because I head to Houston on December 31, but oh my goodness! I remember talking to Tiff about it in April and May, asking if she thought this whole Operation Jack thing was really going to happen. This was before I launched the site on July 1. It almost sounded too crazy to be true. I mean, who really does this?
But now, it looks like we really are. And when I say “we”, I mean me and Tiff. I was telling her over the weekend that our lives have been beyond what we can control since July, and that’s because we added Operation Jack into the equation. I feel completely overwhelmed and she does, too, and as I told her, the reason she feels that way is because this is a team effort and I can’t do any of this without her complete support. She’s picking up a lot of slack because I’m buried alive right now. I hear from a lot of you saying things like, “Wow Sam, it’s really cool what you’re trying to do.” But it’s something that Tiff is doing, too. It’s a team effort and I have a great teammate.
Chick-Fil-A Night!
If you live anywhere near me, come out to the Chick-Fil-A in Foothill Ranch on November 12 (next Thursday) between 5-8 p.m. for dinner! A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to Operation Jack. They’ve been really nice to deal with, so I hope this works out well. I’ll mention this again. And again …
Great Marathon In Utah In June
I noticed some of the details about one of the races on my schedule in June that looks like it might really be a great race. It’s the Utah Valley Marathon in Provo, Utah, and it looks like it’s a combination of great scenery and a blazing course at a great price.
The race is in one of the most scenic areas in Utah, and look at the course profile. Run it smart, and you’ll be through the course in a hurry. Or, take your time and soak in the sights. The trees will be in full bloom and the waterfalls will be running full bore. No matter how much time you spend on the course, it’s an amazing bargain at only $60 for the full, $40 for the half and $19 (yeah, cheaper than lunch for two at Chili’s) for the 5K.
If you register, indicate that you heard about it from Operation Jack and we’ll beneft. And, it’s going to be a 2-for-1. Not only will you be helping Operation Jack and Train 4 Autism, you’ll be helping Children With Cancer Christmas Foundation, a Utah non-profit that helps children with cancer. If you’re an out-of-towner, you’d fly in and out of Salt Lake City. If you’re in town, help me build a team! Put this one in the back of your mind — it should be a really nice race! Now let’s get a big crew out there to start the summer!
Video Of The Day
Yeah, it’s my birthday princess, playing the Wii at my in-laws’ house about a year ago. Poor quality on the video, but it’s the only one of her I have on YouTube.
OK, That’s All For Today
I’ll be back either tomorrow or Friday. I’m running a race on Saturday that I really want to talk about. Have a great day!
Aw, she does look like you! Happy Birthday, Ava! Way to rock the November birthdays. Hope she gets to feeling better and can enjoy her day. That’s sweet of you to get your wife flowers, I think all husbands/dads should do that!
And now I want to go to Utah in June–summer in Utah is so gorgeous! Sounds like that will be a fantastic race.
Have fun on your race on Saturday!
I am sending a message to my hometown – Houston. Asking my friends, all non-runners to come out and give their support…Hopefully they know some runners!
Oh… Happy Birthday Ava!!
Happy bday Ava! What a cutie!