21 Days of Bliss

It has been twenty-one days: twenty-one days of the New Year and seventeen since the last Graceful Chicken post. And even that post had been brewing in my head for over two weeks. What is happening to time? January is on its way out, the Solomonater turned one TWO WEEKS ago, and Liam is about to hit the fourth anniversary of his birth. It's insane how fast certain seasons pass us by!

As I was finishing up my 16 mile run today....on the treadmill....I started contemplating why I hadn't written anything recently. Usually I try to stay very present and take in as much as I can so that something pops out at me and forces me to write. Why wasn't I focused? What was draining my energy? (Uh, duh....perhaps reaching the 150th minute of that run??) Wasn't it just last week that we had enjoyed the most exciting Christmas ever? Wasn't it just yesterday that we entered 2012 with a bang of good tidings and hopeful endeavors? Wasn't I still coming off the thrill of having run my New Years Day 10k race (the beginning of that 5 race series I so enthusiastically signed myself up for last October, remember? I have to admit, the enthusiasm had all but puttered out by the time I was dragging myself out of bed and into that 20 degree weather to run on ice and sludge New Years morning.) I ran far faster than I had anticipated, eager to get back home to make our traditional Black-Eyed Peas and Rice, and when checking my time (45:09) on the computer, I realized I hadn't just met my goal of finishing within the top 100 female runners like I had hoped for, I had placed 6th, and 1st in my age category. Kurt made such a big deal out of it, I started to pray continuously for humility, to keep my head on straight and remain aware that it wasn't that big of a deal and that I owe it all to Him who created me. And Humility (yes, with a capital H) did I get. After a week of pseudo-recovery running, I had to take time off due to an over-use injury. And take up swimming again (ick). And then seek out a Physical Therapist. Such is the way with running.

And then, Aidan won the art contest for the neighborhood's phone directory. Not a huge deal but the thrill on the kids' faces was priceless when they received their participation rewards ($10 EACH in Target Gift cards....next year Liam and Solomon are SO entering!) and their own personal copy of the directory, complete with their artwork on it.

And then, winter finally showed up, with only one foot in the door but at least it is beginning to look like it feels outside. We have long awaited its arrival here in MN. Seriously. It's just not right to live in the arctic tundra and to be "dreaming of a white Christmas" instead of actually having one. And I am positive my kids were tired of me repeating "brown....it's the new white." (It's when they started botching it up repeatedly that I realized the joke was long past its prime. It takes me a while sometimes.) And only yesterday did winter seem to tease us with a little snow (yay for the kids....really) and today, already, they are driving us bonkers!

I knew it was getting bad when Kurt looked up at me during breakfast today, nodded toward the kids and asked, "Why did we do this again?"

Yeah, just pass the espresso.

All that to say, I hope you have made the most of the New Year so far. Perhaps you made some resolutions, set some goals, are slowly making your way toward that new and improved you. Maybe you have some exciting things creeping up on the horizon. Maybe you are just happy to still be here and breathing; that's okay, too.

I'll try to stay more present and get some posts in. You just stay on top of that breathing!