The End?

DNF

D - did

N - not

F - finish

it's a bitter pill to swallow

but it beats DNS

(did not start)

thanks to pat for the following:

"the worst thing one can do is not to try,

to be aware of what one wants

and not give in to it,

to spend years in silent hurt

wondering if something could have materialized

and never knowing"

David Viscott

?2013?

MPD Iron Team Photo

Thanks to

Focal Flame Photography

for the awesome photos and the excellent article!

http://www.focalflame.com/content/madison-police-department-service-team-ironman-wisconsin-athletes-honor-911

you gotta meet this girl...

when we think about the ironman, 

we can't help but get stuck on one word:

endure.

endure, endure, endure.

and we know this girl. 

this truly 

girl,

who has made her way over the past ten years

into the sister-place of our hearts...

she fits there perfectly with our true sisters, 

as, like them, she is

strong & confident & t r u l y 

(because what pierre girl, real or faux, isn't?!)

...both inside and out.

and, she has this way about her.

like with her best friend,

what you see is what you get.

she is

&

& bold. 

(oh, SO bold.)

and she never leaves you guessing. 

we, personally, find these traits to be quite

and we can't imagine our world without her in it.

we know that right now,

with her ironman just two sleeps away,

 she's doing some second-guessing.

some calculating. and re-calculating.

a little bit of hemming.

possibly some hawing,

and just. plain. worrying.

and we want to take a minute to remind her 

that when it comes to

endurance,

she is a pro.

example #1:

when her husband was deployed to afghanistan

and she suffered the great flood of 2003

(in her basement on christmas day all by herself.)

 she found a new home for them

and bought it

and moved into it

and painted it

and decorated it

and made it theirs 

all on her own.

we saw before us the most independent,

self-sufficient girl we have ever known.

(all traits that will serve her well on sunday.)

example #2: 

when she stood by her husband's side 

(& sometimes behind him & sometimes before him,

wherever he needed her to be...)

when he battled cancer,

we thought,

"wow."

now THAT is

that is 

committed

and 

tried

and 

true.

(also qualities befitting of an ironman.

do you see where we're going with this?!)

finally,

example #3:

on the rare chance that a dream 

or one of her heart's desires 

escapes her realization

(but not for her lack of trying)

this girl holds her head up high.

she marches on.

with a smile on her face and

a wiggle on her hip

(regardless of what she's battling inside.)

we've seen her take care of people that she loves

(going so far as to clean up their poop and vomit)

before she minds herself.

and we've seen her celebrate 

and cherish

and be joy-filled for others

when she's probably felt a little broken herself.

that, friends, is an ironman.

with us

and our families,

she doesn't even have to make it to the race.

she earned the title years ago.

she's been our

and our adventure.

she's been our rock

and the wind in our sails. 

she is 

& crafty. :)

she is

and 

and, she is so, so, so, so, so, soooooo

(now, have at it, lorie lu!

we'll be waiting for you

with our arms wide open

 at the finish line.)

we are oh, so proud, of you.

e & j