Month: June 2017

My soul is filled when I’m in the trees.  I was explaining to my students the other day how to look at things with poet’s eyes; to look for small moments with big feelings and explore that and the thing I came back to over and over is how my heart swells like a sponge in a rainstorm when I breathe hard and sweat in the forest.  Hiking is my my prayer at my church with cathedral trees and wildlife parishioners.  Sometimes I’m moved to tears, but almost always I feel healed and whole afterwards.  When we are cruising along on longer hikes I allow myself to deeply daydream, meditate and breathe independently as I make my way up the mountainside, with my people but totally in my own world.  It sounds a little cheesy, but things that are pure like that usually are often uncomfortably so.  This weekend I got to go with my Gigi.  We held hands, chatted, giggled, were quiet, thoughtful and reigned in the dog while we hustled down to the water then back up again.  I remarked that we know one another as runners now and know when to walk and when to run together; our secret language.  I loved her pretty deep, too.  I should always go, even when it rains in yucky, muddy, cold, dark February.  I need to remember what it does for me.  I loved today.❤️

I just wanted to drop a quick post to say all is well, I’m alive.  LOL!

I don’t think I need to go into why I’m so quiet- it’s been my running theme since September began.  What a year.  What have I been up to?

• I made a solid attempt of DietBet and made some progress.  I didn’t win, but I didn’t lose, either.  I lost four pounds, gained three back and am now back to my current low of 207.  I’m chugging away at it…  I’ll do another in the nearish future.
• I reintegrated more physical activity during May.  I’m still not back to running yet, but I took a couple of hikes last weekend that showed me just how quickly I can go from an inshape superstudmuffin to a person who struggled at making it up the hills and actually gets so sore that climbing stairs after was a challenge.  It felt SO GOOD though.  Talk about being a depression wiper-awayer.
• I wrapped up a bajillion things at school.
• Had the stomach flu.  It helped me lose a few pounds.  Shhhhh.
• Got a head start on my report cards. This is a Big Deal for me.
• Hung out with my parents and celebrated our early 18th anniversary with a bonafide date night.  (Holy cow- we can vote now!)
• Watched an entire season of Fixer Upper and figured out how I would redesign and redecorate our house for maximum flow.  😉
• Again: got so much done at work.  End of the year todo’s are getting checked off like crazy.  Do you ever look back at your days and are alarmed at what your were able to accomplish?  And that things are going pretty smooth?  And you’re killing it?  I’m worn out but feeling accomplished, lately, and that is kind of nice.  I’m doing really important work with my kids right now and I feel pretty proud.
• Saw my doctor about an itchy mole that turned out to be nothing but also scored a date with a dietician to work over my realistic nutrition needs to lose a few pounds again.  I have to say that a little extra belly doesn’t bother me much but I liked the way my clothes fit so much better about 10-15 pounds ago.  I like the way I looked at 190 and would like to get back there.  I feel frustrated that I can’t get over this barrier but know that my enthusiasm, or lack thereof, is my real problem.  Perhaps an outside influence will help.  I’m also quite curious about my muscle to fate to bone to whatever ratio, or however they do that.  I’d like to know what I REALLY need to do to get results.  Maybe this will help start me on that path.
• Until the flu struck, I was planning to take a run this weekend.  Instead I’ll hike tomorrow and see about runnng this week sometime.  I’m really excited about getting back into shape and starting running in earnest again this summer!!  Two half marathons at the end of summer are in my sights!