It went smoothly …

Today was the first day of school for Libs and Reese. And it went great! Reese rocked her first time through the valet drop-off line and had a wonderful day at school playing with her friends. She has a new teacher for the first time in three years and she handled it like a champ. I’m so proud of her! Although Libs now has a (mom-loathing) zero period, she had an awesome day. She loves all of her classes and has a bunch with her friends. Tennis went fantastic too! Her team beat a school that they hadn’t beaten in five years. WHOA! know that I probably won’t be able to say that every day will go this well for them, but I am sure going to appreciate it now.

Well, I hope you all had a day where it all went smoothly!!!

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Happily growing older …

Yesterday I found myself explaining how elated I am to be turning 50. I know that may sound absolutely crazy to a lot people, but if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m not like most people. I’ve never been one to focus on my age. I’ve actually spent most of my life focused on my mortality. Having a mom who died in her mid forties after battling breast cancer twice taught me that life isn’t so much about longevity as it is the quality of time you have here. But it also scared me A LOT. I honestly never new if I would make it to see 50 especially dealing with meningitis … twice. OY. But despite it all, here I am. Healthy. Fit. And feeling quite blessed. I am honestly surprised I made it, HA! So how can I be anything less that overjoyed? I’m surrounded by incredible friends and family and I’ve been given the most wonderful children in the world. And God has graciously given me more time to share with them than I ever expected.

Well, I hope you all have a day where you are happily growing older!!!

I couldn’t have done it without them …

I want to say all of this today, since tomorrow I will just be too busy (and scattered). My heart is so vested in these words that I fear that if I start crying that I might not stop. So if I wrote them tomorrow that would be bad because Sunday is race day.

This will be the first full marathon I will run since I got sick. I’ll be fighting a lot of demons out there Sunday. Yes, I can run. I’ve proved that time and time again. BUT can I run THAT distance again? Do I still have what it takes? I honestly and fearfully don’t know.

But with the love, support, guidance and encouragement of my family, friends and doctors, I get to find out. It’s a miracle I have been given this chance again. And I do not take any of it for granted. It is because of these incredible souls that I am even willing to try.

It’s hard to put yourself out there like this. REAL hard. Even under the best and healthiest of circumstances it takes all you have. Being knocked down physically has only made this task more difficult and one of the biggest mental challenges I have ever faced. But I promised myself something years ago when I took a chance on running seriously again. If I do this, I won’t give it up. I wouldn’t do that to my heart again. Running matters to me. It is the part of me that propels me into a fearlessness that I have never know otherwise. And I don’t want to let it go. Not ever.

The point of all my emotional rambling (HA!) is to publicly thank each and every person who has walked through this season of life with me. The season that robbed me of so much, but gave me back even more than I could have ever imagined.

SO without further adieu … to those beautiful souls who have cheered me on, from those first steps that I took with my walker, to the start line this Sunday morning … I humbly and genuinely thank you for believing in me. I couldn’t have done all of this without all of you.

Well, I hope you all have a day where you feel eternally grateful!!!

A big surprise …

I got a special treat today when I received a text from a friend of mine who had moved away. “Do you want to go to lunch?” SAY WHAT?!?! I had no idea that they were even in town! YAY!

Well, I hope you all had a day where you got a big surprise!!!

Tragedy and loyalty …

Sixteen years ago today the U.S. faced a very ugly day. But what happened after that was something I will never forget. We came together as a country. People hung their flags. We became neighbors and family. We were proud to be Americans. There was a patriotism that emerged that I had never seen before in my life time. And it was beautiful. We didn't scatter and become concerned only for ourselves. There was a huge sense of community. We actually loved each other!

Our country is pretty divided right now. But those memories really give me hope. We have weathered some pretty nasty times together. We pulled together before, and we can do it again now. I believe in us. And I won't ever stop.

Well, I hope you all have a day where you remain loyal!!!

No pajamas allowed …

Despite getting home at an ungodly hour yesterday Libs attended a sleepover at a friends' house. She really wanted to go, so I let her. My only hesitation was that she also had to be at tennis by 7:45 this morning. Her friend lives across town from us so we knew that this would challenging. Since both of us live by the mantra that SLEEP IS FOR SISSIES we decided to give it our best shot at getting her to tennis without incident. Which we did. Libs had a fun time at the sleepover and I got her to tennis EARLY. In planning this all out Libs had only one request of me … and it cracked me the heck up.

Well, I hope you all have a day where you WEAR REAL CLOTHES!!!

Feed your soul …

So far Alaska has been fun and relaxing. I have been spending time with some dear friends eating, shopping, talking and hanging out. I even took a nap in the grass! It’s exactly what I’ve needed.

Well, I hope you all have day that feeds your soul!!!