Running To Sonoma

Tuesday was our travel day, back to Milwaukee.  But Tuesday was also the day we were going to visit tk!  I was looking forward to it the whole trip. 

I talked to jd the night before, and asked if there was anything I could bring her.  He indicated that she might ask for a coffee cake from Starbucks, so as we were approaching, we kept an eye out for the nearest one.  As luck would have it, it was right around the corner from where we parked. 

Funny thing, as we were walking to get coffee, I got a text message from the very lovely tk, telling me of all things that she looks like hell and I should be prepared.  Always thinking of the other person, she is.  It was an excuse to call her to see if she had a request for a foofy drink, since gee, we were already AT the place.  So we were able to bring her a blended strawberry lemonade, and a surprise coffee cake. 

We found her room at the end of the hall, and there she was!  Hanging out in bed, just waiting for us to arrive (okay,  she’s in bed because the meds that previous night knocked her out, but whatever).  She greeted us with the same brilliant smile that we all know and love.  That was so nice to see, I can’t even tell you.  The big topic at the start was the race, and how it went, and how Denise and I did.  I brought a course map to show and tell, and our medals and stuff.  I also gave her my white Team Challenge cap, for when she’s having a hat kind of day.

I showed off some pictures that were taken of the weekend, and of the big hill that we started out on, and we kept talking all things race related for a while.  Then we got into other general things: Marjorie’s visit, Denise’s dog, tk’s dog Charley, our tedious flight to San Francisco, our stay in Sonoma valley, just about whatever.  Nurses came in intermittently, one to take tk’s stats, others to just check in on her and say hi. 

It was a fantastic visit, with conversations we could have had anywhere, but just happened to be having in the hospital.  I wish I lived closer so I could come in more often and just sit around and tell stories, or give her a pep talk or whatever else. 

And darlin’, while you may not have the same physical presence as when you were here in September, or you think you look like hell, I think you look fabulous for the garbage you’ve been through and continue to go through.  I so enjoyed listening to you talk, watching you as you listened to us.  You are beautiful, through it all.