In September 1997 I returned to Washington D.C. after spending four years as a diplomat in Geneva, Switzerland. I left D.C. a newlywed and environmental lawyer and returned as a pastry chef, caterer, cooking teacher and mother of 2 toddlers.

Was the song I was listening to as I crossed the finish line of the Miami Half Marathon this past Sunday, January 29, 2017, though the cheering crowd pretty much drowned it out. I keep marveling at the photos of me crossing the finish, smiling, with my hands in the air.