The 7th Almost-Annual Turkey Trot, Amble, Walk or Crawl

This past week Jim, Jack and I traveled to the Fort Worth area to visit Jim's family for Thanksgiving.

The day after our feast we held our Almost Annual Turkey Trot, Amble, Walk or Crawl.  I say Almost-Annual because, for some reason, we didn't manage to roll off the couch last year to go on our one-mile escapade.

This year, however, we were ready.  And our group had expanded a bit to include close friends and extended family...



Jim prays at the starting line every year in case he dies along the way.

This time our starting line was missing a very important person as Aunt Ruth passed away earlier this year.

Though I had been feeling her absence the past few days,  it wasn't until we all lined up at the START and she wasn't there that I missed her the most.

When Ruth died, she was 91.  That means that she was in her late 80s for many of our Annual Trots.  Ruth is on the far right in the hot pink pants in this pic taken about five years ago...

Every year, I admired the enthusiasm and energy she brought to the starting line.  She was always grateful and happy that she had the ability to just show up...even if it meant she was only going to walk a few yards to the end of the block and back.

But times change...

And there are younger lives that show up to take the places of those that have gone before us.

As I find myself getting into the older category, I too appreciate our health and ability to move.  These men are both looking great...but my brother in law in the back is 20 years older than the young buck who leads him...



Way to go Mike!

My nephew who always wins...won again.  But this year, my other nephew gave him a bit of a challenge...

Notice they were working too hard to smile for the camera.

Most everyone else was smiling in spite of the fact that they were running...



And some were smiling because they had a Godfather to give them a ride..

Jack whizzed by too quickly to get a picture of him running in his stocking feet...

Evidently, those shoes he was carrying weren't his running shoes.

We all survived the run so Jim's prayers must have worked.

The youngest was carried across the finish line...

But she wasn't the only one.  My SIL hitched a ride across the line as well...

And so another family ritual marks the passage of time and the joy of celebrating with family and friends.

And me?  I'm going to remember one of the most important things that Ruth taught me.

Always show up at the START because you CAN...

And wear JAZZY PANTS!