Waiting behind the finish line...

We made a plan and I stuck to it. But the best laid plans are fated to be altered, often through no intent of our own. We arrived at the finish line at 4:30. My son transported my massage table to the Elite tent before walking to the buses outside Kelly Inn which would take him to the start line. He said he felt good and believed he could finish the race in under 3 hours. So did I, after all he had run Grandma's in a personal record, just over 3 hours. He had trained with devotion and had a good night sleep. So I stood here and waited while the elite runners recovered and waited for a massage therapist. Mostly we worked without a break, and this was the first time I had been so brazen to walk out for 10 minutes while the line grew restless. I was raised to be a compulsive caretaker, and the full ten minutes I waited was colored by an uneasy sense of shame. In spite of the fact I was a volunteer, in spite of the fact that I was exhausted and this was my first break. After 10 minutes I headed back to the tent where I resumed my position in the line of 8 massage tables.m I missed seeing him cross the finish at Grandma's and I missed him last year at TC, but I saw him at the start and at the finish of Phoenix and May Mpls, so not all is lost. Maybe next year...