Sunday, February 28, 2010

Race Day, Slippers, and Slips

Thanks for the all the positive vibes and well wishes for my half marathon Saturday.  I had a great race....considering.  I felt good all the way although I was getting very tired on the last hill, a hill I never notice when I'm driving my car.   I finished one minute faster than my time last year.  I'm thrilled!

I almost didn't make it to the race.  Friday evening, as I was being a good little racing geek and preparing for bed around 10:00 PM,  I got a call from the Cajun state to the east where my mom was spending the week at a casino.  

Mom was in the Emergency Room (ER).    Evil Twin cheered. I slapped her silly and waited to hear what the ER nurse had to say.  

My poor mom collided with unforgiving concrete when a parking lot snake (in the form of a speed bump hump) reached up and grabbed her foot as she was hurrying to her car in the rain.  She couldn't catch herself and ended up with a goose egg on her forehead, a broken nose, and a very sore shoulder.  Her right eye was swollen shut for awhile and she has limited sight in that eye at this point.   She had no sight in the eye immediately after the accident.

Evil Twin was again rejoicing, this time at my poor mom's attempt to look like a raccoon.  Evil Twin was fed to the Lochness Monster in the Red River in Shreveport.  

Um.....wait.  Isn't Lochness in Scotland?

Oh well.

Mom is very sore all over.  Fortunately, she does not have a concussion. 

Needless to say, after getting the call Friday evening, I was not able to sleep.  I stayed up awhile and got additional information from the ER and encouraged them to admit Mom overnight for observation.  I finally fell asleep in the wee hours.  I really wasn't sure I would be racing the next morning or driving four hours to Shreveport, LA. 

Obviously, I raced.  I didn't stay for any post-race activities or even to wait for the guy running in house slippers and pajamas to finish.  I  headed home.  Hubby and I packed an overnight bag and hit the road.  To give ourselves me a little comfort, we made a quick stop for a yummy Tex-Mex post-race lunch on our way out of town.  I eased a little stress with some homemade flour tortillas!


Mom left the hospital this morning and we drove her back.  Hubby drove her car.  I folded my tall mother into my small/mid-size SUV buggy and off we went.  At least the weather was GOSH DERN gorgeous for our trip back.  

It was also nice that we were able to use her room last night at the casino so we had a place to stay.

I'm tired.  Hubby's tired.  Even Cat is tired and all he did was sleep, eat, pee and poop.  Evil Twin?  Who gives a flying flip?

Photo credit:  Ha ha!  Fooled you.  I DID NOT take a photo of my mom's face, unlike her sister who took a photo a couple of years ago when my mom passed out (at a cemetery) and hit head head and nose. Yeah, what a place to pass out.  At least it wasn't close to an open grave....

Speaking of Mom's sister, she had called my mom's house a day before the accident asking her if she was ok.  Hum......maybe she hired the parking lot snake.

28 comments:

Nooter said...

sounds like a helmet is top of the list for moms next birthday present.

did you get to run through a park?

Anonymous said...

Wait you mean this is not the first time your Mom has hit her head and nose?

Ay yi yi!

Me thinks Evil Twin has been haunting your Mom!

I'm glad you had a good race and glad to hear that your Mom will be recuperating.

You might want to look into a nice rubber suit for her. You know Mother's Day is coming up!

HA!

Poor Mumster!

Moonrayvenne said...

Maybe your mom's sister is psycho...oops, I mean psychic.lol.
I say we wrap her up tight in bubble wrap. Safe & fun!
I'm so happy that you finished your race & a minute ahead of last year! WOOHOO! Run for your life, my sister! (especially with Evil Twin lurking about)
I'm sure we can find some way to take care of that Evil Twin of yours. muahahahaha!

Funnyrunner said...

Hey! Great race, congrats! I hope your mom is okay!

Skye said...

Your mom didn't take my comment about "break a leg" seriously did she? Like she wasn't trying to do it for you or any such thing? I hope she heals up real quickly!

A huge congrats to you on finishing the race a full minute quicker than last year!

ReformingGeek said...

@Nooter - Yes, Mom and I have discussed helmets! ;-)

I got to run past a golf course. Does that count?

@Quirky - Thanks. A rubber suit sounds like a good idea. Maybe Evil Twin has been sneaking out at night.

@Collette. Bubble wrap? I like that idea. Yes, I think Evil Twin is ot of control.

@Funnyrunner - Thanks!

@Skye - Thanks. I think she misunderstood "leg". YIKES!

Jean Knee said...

eek, glad your mom is okay. My grandma fell and beat her face all to hell like that. My sister took her picture to work and told everyone she got beaten up.

yeah I don't get it either


good race time. a minute is a gigantical amount when running, or even moving, is involved

Leeuna said...

Sorry about your mom, Reffie, but it's great that you made the race...and beat your time. Congrats.

Me-Me King said...

Oh my goodness, bless your mom's heart. I hope she recovers real soon.

Congrats on your race time, well done there Geek Girl!

meleah rebeccah said...

Oh My God! Im terribly sorry to hear about your MOM. That's awful. I hope she recovers quickly. A broken nose is really painful!

On an lighter note, CONGRATS to YOU on finishing the Race on Saturday AND one minute faster than your time last year! That's awesomeness.

ReformingGeek said...

@Jean - Thanks. Sisters are weird aren't they?

@Leeuna - Thanks. She is very sore!

@Me-Me - Thanks. I'm sure she won't recover fast enough for her plans.

@Meleah - Thanks. I can't imagine having a broken nose. Ouch!

The Old Silly said...

Nooter? Yeah, Old Silly here. I'd like to kick in on the gift offerings to get Reffie's Mom a helmet.

And Evil Twin? Shut the f**k up!

Marvin D Wilson

MrsBlogAlot said...

Great job on the race! But poor mom ouch!

ReformingGeek said...

@Marvin - Yes, please send donations for a helmet!

@Mrsblogalot - Thanks! It was a tough weekend.

Mike said...

Doesn't timing suck? You work and train for the half marathon and then cannot even enjoy it.

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

This is a really interesting story on several levels -- the race (congrats!), your mother's predilection for falling over and hitting her face, the Tex-Mex food (I'm hungry) and most of all, the Loch Ness Monster in the Red River in Shreveport. I'm fascinated by people who fall over a lot, and by scary creatures like Nessie, Sasquatch and Evil Twin. I sense there are many more stories about your mom that have gone untold.

ReformingGeek said...

@Otin - Life comes at your fast.

@MikeWJ - Thanks. Believe it or not, Mom isn't clumsy and has only fallen twice in her life (that we know of)!

I'm think that Nessie, Sasquatch, and Evil Twin are one and the same.

I'm sure there are stories. I have them,too. ;-)

Anything Fits A Naked Man said...

First off, congrats on the race! Seriously, a whole minute faster on very little sleep? Outstanding!!

Secondly, you are frigging HYSTERICAL!! I LOVE your writing style! You had me laughing out loud at your poor mother and that nasty parking lot "snake!" Thanks so much for the smile, I really needed that!

Marissa said...

lol - "the guy running in house slippers and pajamas..." We so need a picture of that.

And the elderly really need to come equipped with airbags.

ReformingGeek said...

@Anything - Thanks. Yeah, those "snakes" get at us in so many ways!

@Marissa - I wish I had a photo. It was funny as not too many people were dressed up in costumes! I like the airbag idea.

Chris said...

Congrats on the half marathon, that's awesome. Hope mom's okay!

Shrinky said...

"Evil twin cheered" Haaaaaaaaaa!

But seriously, your poor mum, I sure hope she's recovering and will soon be fit enough to go back and kill the snake.

My hubby runs marathons (sigh). Good luck with it!

kathcom said...

I'm glad your mom is okay. And congratulations on your race time. I'm glad you got to run.

ReformingGeek said...

@Chris - Thanks!

@Shrinky - Thanks. I think she wants to chop the snake into bits. Go Hubby!

@kathcom - Thanks!

Unknown said...

Congratulations are your race time. Hope your mom is feeling better. Poorly timed fall. Sounds like evil twin and mom's sister have a twisted secret alliance. Perhaps from watching too many episodes of The Three Stooges.

Also, I was wondering how to fold up moms for easy storage in the trunk. Did she complain much or was she still on meds from her hospital stay? Fold up moms is a great idea. Prevents backseat driver syndrome.

honeypiehorse said...

So exciting you ran a marathon. Go sporty you! Hope your mom feels better.

ReformingGeek said...

@Lauren - Yes, I've been wondering what they have been up to.

I would definitely recommend doping before folding. They tend to ramble more so than try to drive for you. ;-)

@honeypie - Thanks. It was only a half but that's good enough for me (right now)!

The Constant Complainer said...

I'm proud of you for the race - great job. And of course I'm glad to hear that mom is doing better too. My marathon is coming up on May 16th. I'll finish the damn thing, even if I have to crawl.


"1.00s, 1.50s, 1.75s for the short arms. If you know what I'm talking about, you're probably old, too."

"Boomer brain fog: What was the last, middle, and first part of what you just said to me?"