It was just a regular day back in January when I caught the vibe that our youngest (Brooke – a Junior at Oklahoma State University) had something to tell us.  Call me insightful but – I believe she said, “Ummmm…soooo…I have something that I need to tell you.” It was my first clue that something big was coming.

I realize that there are parents that might panic at that kind of statement.  Parents that would be waiting for a huge bomb to be dropped like, “I’m failing all of my classes and will need to repeat this year of college”, or “I’ve decided to drop out of school and move to Colorado to sell marijuana to save up for a backpacking trip with the new cult that I’ve joined”, etc..

Me…I was waiting for “I’m going to move to Africa as soon as I graduate and teach there” or “I’ve decided to drop out of school cause I want to adopt/foster kids that need homes in Oklahoma”.  Seriously – not bragging…it’s just WHO SHE IS!

So when she got REALLY serious and said, “This is something that I REALLY have been thinking about and I’ve done a lot of research on and I’m serious…”, I began to sweat.  I was not prepared for…

“I’m training for…and plan to…run a half marathon in April.”

Wait…WHAT?  You are planning to RUN…like on purpose?  Like further than around the block?  A HALF MARATHON…how long is that even?  I looked at her father (who was BEAMING!) and thought, “WHO IS SHE?”.

What I’ve learned (well….been reminded of) is that my daughter is one DETERMINED and A-MA-ZING woman!  Turns out, she had reached out to her older cousin who is known as the “family runner” (the ONLY “family runner” we have) and had a training program downloaded and had already started.  Can I just make it clear – we were SHOCKED!

When my dad found out (he was in the hospital at the time), he was SOOOOO proud and immediately said that he wanted her to have “the best running shoes” and made it clear,  “whatever she needs – I want to pay for it”.  We had just spent the day before having her feet analyzed and trying on different running shoes, so his offer came at a great time for her.  As we discussed it (and he made sure that Tom and I didn’t have a problem with him wanting to jump in/take over the expense), he was hilarious as he said, “Wait…SHE has to pay an ENTRY FEE…like you PAY TO RUN??  That’s interesting…I’m thinking they should be paying HER!”

He lovingly paid the entry fee for the “Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon”.

Jump ahead 3 months and today, April 24th, was RACE DAY.   I’ll write another post about the actual timing of this event, but let’s just say – it’s been a really emotional and stressful past week.  We, as a family, gathered in Oklahoma City…there were 15 of us…my mom representing my dad – who, for the last three months, has asked me almost DAILY about her training/how she was doing.  He was SOOOOOOO proud of Brooke.

All she cared about was finishing…didn’t care how she crossed the finish line (sprint, jog, walk, or crawl) but she was determined to do it.  My girl, who had not run more than a mile in years, ran 13.1 miles and finished right at 3:09 minutes.  She ran for THREE HOURS!

And, because she’s a “Eubanks Girl”, she cried the second she turned the last corner and we were all there – causing a scene/cheering!

WHO IS SHE?? 

She’s our AWESOME daughter…

She’s Brittney & Breanna’s AMAZING sister…

She’s #lukethomas and #aisleyelizabeth’s  LOVING Aunt and Jeremy & Phil’s HILARIOUS sister-in-law…

She’s Paula’s niece and Seth, Emily and Sarah’s CRAZY cousin…

She’s AJ’s SWEET girlfriend…

She’s Gramma Judy’s PRECIOUS grand-daughter…

She’s our “ROCKSTAR/SUPER HERO of the day”…

And as of today…She’s a  MARATHON RUNNER…

and her Grandpa Jim knew she could do it!

Brooke – no words to tell you how proud we are of you!

Thanks for not moving to Africa (for now) or joining some cult (EVER)!

Keep running…we will ALWAYS be here – cheering you on!