It's been a while...

I've been meaning to post for some time now, but with the craziness that has been my life lately, I wasn't even sure what to write.  So much has happened in the two months since my last post, and yet I find myself right back here where I started.

We've made it through another successful season of Girls on the Run.  I spent my second season with the team as an assistant coach and loved every minute of it!  Our girls were crazy, fun, smart, silly and all-around awesome!  And I'm happy to say that I plan to be back for more in the fall. 

There are so many things I could say about this past season, but rather than recapping ten weeks with a lot of words, I figure a picture will say it best...


Team Avon Lake - Spring 2013

Life at home has finally returned to normal after a chaotic month of trying to figure out where our future would lead us.  With the possibility of moving out of state, we struggled with the idea of leaving behind family and friends, all the while thinking about what a fun adventure it would be.  Alas, the decision has been made and, while we're disappointed that our 'adventure' was not to be, we're also not sad to be staying in the place where we've built a life we really enjoy.  I guess we'll have to come up with a different adventure to focus on.

Which got me to thinking about this post from a year ago.  The changes to my 'bucket list' are few and I think it's time to refocus on it.

Run a marathon

Get more involved with a charity

Learn kickboxing

Write a book

Run my own business

Travel to Europe

Skydive

Start a vegetable garden

Get out of debt

Take a cooking class

Take dance lessons

 

With my involvement with Girls on the Run, I can officially cross off my desire to get more involved with a charity.  I plan to stay as involved as possible for the foreseeable future.

 

Write a book?  Definitely not crossed off yet, but I've started working on it, so I suppose that's better than nothing.

 

Skydive?  Not yet accomplished, but there's a game plan... and it's definitely going to happen.

 

Get out of debt?  Getting there :)

 

As for the rest, this is as good a time as any to get started...

Another proud moment... for my husband!

So, a little over a week ago my husband took his final exam and turned in his final presentation... he officially completed his masters program!  And for the last week we've been waiting impatiently to find out his final grades. 

On Monday night, the results were finally in.  An A- in his final class, which also meant straight As for the entire program. 

12 classes

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18 months of reading, studying and writing

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78 weeks of hard work and dedication

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Countless hours of personal time relinquished

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1 MBA

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1 very proud wife

To my husband, my best friend, my hero: You did it!!!  Words can not express how proud I am of you and your accomplishment.  You've dreamt of this since before we met and, as much as I've hated giving up so much of our time together, I'm glad to have been a part of this journey for you.  You rock!

Love, your wife :)

A Proud Moment

I can't help myself.  I'm insanely proud of it, so I can't be ashamed for wanting to share it, right?

On March 1st I was featured on Garmin's blog for my involvement with Girls on the Run! 

When I received the email from Girls on the Run International telling me I'd been selected as February's SoleMate of the Month, I was incredibly flattered.  They provided my information to Garmin, a national sponsor of the Girls on the Run SoleMates charity running program, who posted my story (and picture... yikes) on their blog. 

And here it is: Garmin Blog

Pretty cool, right?  I certainly thought so :)

I love...

I love Girls on the Run!  I've said it before and I'll say it again... it's an amazing program!  And this year I've made the leap from Running Buddy to Assistant Coach.  And I'm seriously loving every minute!

Being a coach required going to a coach's training class.  It means preparing ahead of time for lessons.  It means showing up early and staying a few minutes late.  It requires the purchase of healthy snacks for each practice.  And year end gifts.  And often times, money out of our own pockets.  It means leading the lessons.  And showing up for every meeting with a Girls on the Run attitude.  It requires time and energy and a boat load of patience.  And dealing with pre-teen girls.  All without making a dime.  It's a voluntary position... and one I would do every day of the week.

After just one practice, I already love these girls.  They're fun and energetic and insanely silly.  They're smart and friendly and open to new ideas.  I don't remember being that cool when I was that age.  But, then again, that's sort of the point, isn't it?  At that age, we were all cooler than we ever gave ourselves credit for.  We were more awesome than we realized.  Maybe nobody told us.  Maybe we were too busy focusing on our insecurities to hear the people that did.  I was probably 30 years old before I realized I was cool.  As coaches, it's our job to make sure these girls know it well before that.  They should know it now.  And I look forward to spending the next ten weeks making sure they do :)

Disconnecting in an overly-connected world...

Technology is a wonderful thing... until it takes over.

I'm reminded on a fairly regular basis that, these days, people are so attached to social networks, television and cell phones that they're beginning to lose their personal connection with everything around them.  I always think "how sad that someone could be so addicted to TV that they don't spend time with their family, so connected on Facebook and Twitter that they're unable to perform a single action during their day without letting their 'friends' know what they're up to, and so in need of a constant connection to the outside world that they can't even part with their cell phone during dinner." 

And then I remember... I'm one of those people.

Heaven help me if I haven't read every single post in my Facebook news feed.  And there are just some shows I can't possibly miss.  I pretend it's not so bad... it's not as if I stay home on a Wednesday night because I don't want to miss my favorite show... that's what a DVR is for!  And think of all the time I save by fast forwarding through the commercials!

Don't get me wrong, there's no harm in watching TV, keeping up with friends and relatives online or being connected to the outside world.  The problem is when Facebook feels like a lifeline.  When the fate of television characters starts to feel as important as the real people in our lives.  When the misplacement of a cell phone causes panic to set in, as if it's the worst possible thing that could ever happen.

Of course, I can't just deactivate my Facebook account... too many relatives rely on me to post pictures of my son and keep them apprised of the goings on in his life.  It's not for me, it's for them.  And as far as TV is concerned, who doesn't deserve a little down time... a little break from reality... a chance to lose yourself in the lives of nonexistent people? 

Still, I find myself wondering... what would life be like if I could just disconnect for a while.  Would I be more productive?  Would I be bored enough to workout on a regular basis?  Would it allow me to take more time to reconnect with the people I call friends?  Sadly, I'm not sure I have the willpower to find out... the very idea of disconnecting makes me nervous... I break out in a cold sweat... now that I think of it, where is my cell phone?  Maybe I should make sure I haven't missed a call.

As I finish this post, my cell vibrates to alert me of a new text received and I drop everything I'm doing as if this will be an earth-shattering matter that I must attend to immediately.  An 'I love you' text from my husband.  Sweet?  Absolutely.  Earth-shattering?  Debatable.  I may not be up for the challenge... but I'm certainly a prime example of someone who should give it a shot. 

The acknowledgment of a problem is a step in the right direction... right?

You can't call it writer's block...

Writer's block would suggest an inability to come up with an idea, a character, a plot... a lack of inspiration.  These are all things I have.  My characters are intriguing, the story line interesting.  I have imagined the smallest details of a New York City apartment, the meager belongings of a man on the run and the quiet surroundings of a cabin in the woods.  I know the physical features of the characters... it's as if I'd known them my entire life... we'd be friends if they actually existed.  Instead, they nag at me from inside my head, wanting me to share their story... or at least try.

What I have is writer's fear... apprehension... anxiety... trepidation.  Of course, I'm not even sure you can call it "writer's" anything when I'm not actually a writer.  I've never written before, have absolutely no education on the subject and have only made the smallest of efforts to put my thoughts to paper.  Within hours of putting something down, the file is deleted, the dream stashed away for another day.  And somehow I still think of myself as a writer. 

I don't know where it came from... it just snuck up on me one day.  The smallest seed planted deep in the back of my brain, watered sparingly and offered little light.  Then suddenly there was an uncontrollable desire to be something I'd never been... my little seed has become an overgrown weed... not entirely unpleasant, but quickly taking over every thought in my head.  And now it's as if I'm cheating myself in some way by not trying.  Is it a fear of failure?  An inability to commit to the work it would require?  It's hard to say.  But either way, it's anything but writer's block.

Falling in love with something new

I hurt.  A lot.  But it's a good hurt.  The kind you get when you try something new physically and it kicks your ass.  The sign of a good workout.  The stretching of body parts you were sure would never be flexible again.  The use of muscles you weren't even sure you had.  The reminder that you aren't as young as you once were.  It's the kind of pain that comes from one's first yoga class.  It hurts.  And I love it.

Monday night was my first yoga class... thank you, Mel, for suggesting it; thanks, Jenn and Aaron, for forwarding the groupon that made it insanely inexpensive; and thank you, fine yoga instructor, for convincing us that our bodies were capable of strange positions that I'm still not sure are completely natural.  Running a marathon proved I had abilities I didn't know I had.  Yoga forced me back to the reality that there are still a few things my body is currently incapable of.

It was a good reminder.  It's time to dust off those muscles I'd forgotten about and take advantage of 80 minutes of totally calming me time.  It's time to learn something new.  And it's time to make that transition from downward dog to cobra pose my bitch.