Tough Day

I knew today was going to be hard. I think March 11th will always be hard now. Losing someone dear to you sucks and the one year anniversary, though bringing some closure, is still a hard day to slog through. Selfishly this day is hard for me, personally, as many of those close to Tom are all in Arizona at Mariner Spring Training. Missing moments like these are what make this overseas life especially though. A chat from the oldest, in high school, saying it is hard without me both makes my heart sad and light at the same time. She knows I love her. She knows I would do anything for her and her family. Grieving on the other side of the planet is part of that.

Today was also tough for another reason, this one was a thankful distraction for most of my day. I wrote about rooting for Aliy in this year's Iditarod a few days ago. The finish came today and it was a true nail biter. If they had written a script for this finish I don't think they would have believably come up with the leader changing multiple time in the last hours of the race. I think that is where many of us sit right now, struck by how unbelievable it all has been. I keep shaking my head as I recall the unfolding events. Unfortunately it is not a happy ending for Aliy, again this year. In a race that lasted over 8 1/2 DAYS she lost by less than 2 1/2 MINUTES. The key players are all sleeping right now, but over the next few days we will get the real story of the lead team scratching, one team holing up from a brutal storm (winds up to 65 mph), and another team plowing through believing they were racing for third place (against their dad, none-the-less).