Tuesday, August 30, 2011

When I'm 28...

With my 28th birthday coming up just around the corner, I took some time to reflect while running in the rain tonight, on what I want to do, see, be at 28.

When I'm 28, I want to dress like I'm 28. I have no earthly clue what that means, but I want to figure it out. I want to look nice at work, look fun on the weekends, look put together always. I don't want to wear things too big, too small, to long, to tight...I want to be classic, stylish, but not too trendy. I may need a personal shopper and a big birthday present to pull this one off.

When I'm 28, I want to be healthy. Really healthy. Not obsessive, gross-looking healthy, just really healthy. I started running this summer (and completely love it). I want to keep on running, more and more often. I want to go to every yoga class possible. I want to stay away from junk food and embrace fresh foods. I want to glow. I want to be hot. I want to feel really good about myself.

When I'm 28, I want to BE love. I don't just want to act with love, or look a little like love. I want to BE love, all the time, with everyone. I want to be thoughtful, share joy, surprise people. I want to be a reflection of Jesus' love in the world.

When I'm 28, I want to be the very best me. It's going to be a great year. :)

Monday, August 15, 2011

Running mantra for the night...

Tonight, I decided to slip home just before sunset to try to get a run in. This running this is really catching hold of me. I seriously love it. But tonight, I decided that since I didn't have much time before the sun went down, I'd try to run a shorter distance faster than I had before. 

Toward the end, I was getting pretty tired, and I could feel myself beginning to slow down. But just as that started to happen, I began to think, Persistence. Form. Trust. 
Persistence: Your brain will always take your body further than your body can go. Push yourself. Conveniently, this is also a great mantra for life - persist through the tough parts because there will be better days ahead. 

Form: When I get tired in a run, I find that I get sloppy. My arms start to flail side to side, I kick my own ankles, my feet hit the ground funny. This is how bodies get sore. This is how injuries happen. So, when I am at my weakest, that's when I need to focus on form the most. Strangely, this is also true in life. When the going is good, good form is pretty easy to come by. In tough times, it's easy to get grouchy, mean, short with people. Tough times are when it's most important to have and keep good form. 

Trust: Sometimes I find it hard to trust my own body on a run. What if I can't make it that far? What if my legs get sore or my shins suffer? What if I have to walk home? But the worries are, so far, unfounded. My body always gets me home. I can make it as far as I am willing to persist. So far, my legs have held up just fine. Trusting in my own abilities, my own strength is important. I was made to do this right now (sounds a little like life, too, come to think of it). So, I just need to trust that I can. 

Persistence. Form. Trust. Good for running. Good for life.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Dare I Say...

Tomorrow marks the half way point of August. There's lots of work to be done, and lots of big things happening on campus yet this month. But dare I say, I'm doing more than just surviving August this year. I'm finding that I'm actually enjoying it! I'm at work a lot. I even worked most of today...a Sunday. I'm not bothered. 

I'm finding myself proud of what I'm able to accomplish and shrugging off some of the things I'm not. Today, I finished a nightmare of a bus logistics schedule for a trip for 440 or so students and faculty. Finished it. I was pumped! My email is not a mountain, maybe just a molehill. Yay! My car's kind of full of random work junk. So what. My house is untidy. Such is life. My lawn needs mowing. Maybe tomorrow. My office can still be traversed from door to chair and back. A big plus. I'm eating well and working out more than once a week. Big deals, really. 

Looking back of the past three Augusts that I have just barely squeezed through alive, all the terribly long days with short, sleepless nights, starving my way from day to day, missing meals and other such good-for-me things that should not be ignored, I am quite pleased with my ever-so-gradual learning curve finally catching up. 

Those that came before me gave up far too soon. They got tired. I have somehow hit my second wind. I'm not tired. In fact, maybe I'm better than I was when I began. I've grown, matured, learned a thing or two. 

So, here's to a fantastic August. One with no whining, no tears, no temper tantrums. One with some fun, some health, undoubtedly some extra coffee, and a little indulgence here and there. What a joy, what a surprise, what an August!