Mom Left Us With Nothing. But She Gave Us Everything
Some families inherit money, property, or family heirlooms.
Our mother left us none of those things.
But somehow, she left us everything.
She gave us each other.
Seven children, six sisters and one brother, born and raised in the Bronx. We didn’t grow up with much, but we grew up with something far more valuable: family.
And for the past 20 years, the New York City Marathon has given us a reason to come together and celebrate what she gave us.
It All Started With Mom
More than 20 years ago, two of my sisters, one from Idaho and another from Florida, began traveling to New York every November to celebrate our mother’s birthday.
They spoiled her with Broadway shows, shopping, restaurants, and plenty of attention. But as Mom got older, she became a little crankier. One year, the girls decided they needed a break and headed out to watch their younger brother run the New York City Marathon.
They had no idea they were starting a family tradition.
One year became five. Five became ten. And now, 20 consecutive years later, nearly 25 family members, including siblings, children, and cousins, gather every November.
We meet at Mile 17 along First Avenue, cheer again at Mile 24 near Central Park, and finish the day with dinner at an Upper West Side restaurant.
We laugh, tell stories, tease one another, and take photographs. For a few wonderful hours, despite the miles and years separating us, we’re those seven kids from the Bronx again.
It Was Never About the Marathon
I’ve run nearly 30 marathons, and this year marks my 18th New York City Marathon.
Some years I’ve run well. Other years I’ve struggled. And there were years when injuries kept me from running at all.
But my family still came.
They stood along the course, cheered for complete strangers, and gathered for dinner afterward.
That’s when I realized something.
They weren’t coming to New York to watch me run.
They were coming to see each other.
I was simply the excuse.
And I couldn’t be happier about it.
The Greatest Gift Mom Left Us
As I grow older, I think about our mother and what she would make of all this.
I wish I had one more opportunity to tell her how those birthday weekends turned into something so meaningful.
How her seven children, now scattered across different places, still find their way back to one another every November.
How the grandchildren and cousins have become part of a tradition she unknowingly started.
And how, after all these years, we still love being together.
I think she’d be proud.
Someday, my legs will be too old to run another marathon. Someday, the faces around our dinner table will change. That’s the part of growing older none of us wants to think about.
But I hope our children and grandchildren continue this tradition long after we’re gone.
Because the marathon was never really about 26.2 miles.
It was about family.
This November, when I turn onto First Avenue, I’ll be looking for the same familiar faces I’ve looked for over the past 20 years. I’ll hear my sisters cheering, see my family waving, and for a few seconds, forget all about the miles ahead.
And I’ll think about Mom.
She never left us a fortune. She left us something far more precious.
She left us a family that still wants to be together.
I wish Mom were here to see us all together. But perhaps the greatest tribute to her is that, after all these years, we still are.
mGAP Coach George Frole