**
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- **Demaryius Thomas can't wait to have his mother, Katina Smith, watch him play for the Broncos in person for the first time.
The wait will last just a little while longer. Smith, who had her sentence for drug trafficking commuted by President Barack Obama this summer, was released from a halfway house Tuesday, but she cannot travel for 60 days.
That timetable would make it possible for her to see Thomas play in the postseason, assuming the Broncos qualify for the playoffs. Given their 7-1 start, the team is in terrific shape to make sure that opportunity happens.
But Thomas hopes he can get his mother to Denver before then -- not simply so she can see him play, but so the son can give his mother the hug for which both have waited for so long.
"I'm hoping that it'll be here. I know that it'll be emotional. I'm sure that I'll break down and start crying," Thomas said. "I'm sure that she will too because it will be her first time -- even probably on the plane coming to Denver -- in Denver. It'll be a little emotional, but I'll be very excited."
The sooner they can embrace, and the sooner that Smith can come to Denver, watch her son and see the life he's worked to make for himself, the better.
"I have to talk to the probation officer. I hope that I can talk to him [Thursday] and see what we can do because I want to get her out here to a game before the season is over," Thomas said.
Thomas and his mother have been in constant communication; he estimates that he receives "probably 12" text messages a day from her.
"All that she's been talking about is racing me," he said. "She thinks that she can outrun me for some reason. That's all that she's been talking about."
As Smith leaves the halfway house, her readjustment will continue. Smith was in prison for 15 years, and a crucial step of her reintegration into society is adjusting to the myriad changes -- massive and small -- that have come to everyday life since the turn of the century.
"The other thing was that she wanted to get a Walkman," Thomas said. "People don't even use Walkmans anymore. We're going to try and get her some music on her new phone that she has."
But there will be no music as sweet as the sound of the crowd cheering her son, a moment that can't come soon enough.
"It's a little emotional. I'm excited about it and wish that she was here," Thomas said. "You have people saying, 'You're going to have a great game. Your mom is going to be around.' I'm happy still.
"I'm very happy and she's happy since we've been talking a lot more lately. The main thing is still just going out and trying to do my job."
But just because he remains focused on that doesn't mean that Thomas can completely conceal his excitement.
"He was walking around the locker room today showing everybody pictures of her," fellow wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. "It's just going to be awesome. That's going be an awesome experience. I can't wait to meet her. I'm happy for him. I'm happy for his family."
