Survived

I don't want to be a pessimist, but if I take as long as I did yesterday with my first five mile run in 8 years, it will take me three hours to run a half marathon. That's not exactly record pace. I guess I have something to strive for...more speed. Any running partner I've ever had will know that's not something I'm known for. I guess the better sign is that I had enough energy to help my dad stack wood from two very wet walnuts trees after the run and am ready to go again today. Feeling blessed...

On the road again

WOO HOO!! I'm on the road again heading toward my goal of a 13.1 mile race. The thought seems so crazy at this point, but I am unusually calm and so pumped up about the challenge. I am going through some kind of transformation right now. I feel God working in my life in so many ways, at work, physically, in our church. It is truly an awesome place to be right now. Everything seems in alignment, pardon my pun. This morning's run was so beautiful. It is a blessing to hear God's birds serenading me through the drumlike pounding of my feet and to witness the colors of the Creator's pallette painted across the sky. What beauty. Can't wait for tomorrow.

My daughter has her first baseball practice tonight and I can't wait to see how she does. Until later-

A physical challenge

I've been working to get my groove back. I know, that sounds sexy, but just ask my running partner, it's not. Last fall, I set out to get back into the running scene and thus far, it's not been an easy road. I fell in November and twisted my ankle, which took me out for three weeks. Then came our wretched slick and cold winter. Mid-February, we got serious again. Then two weeks ago, my two best friends from college put a challenge out there to train for a half-marathon and run it together on a very flat course in Wichita in September. This is just what I needed. A purpose! We found a training schedule that will help us build up to the first time run.

Then I went to the chiropractor, who told me I'd better put off running for two more weeks as my lower back is grossly misaligned. So I now am anxiously awaiting Thursday to get out and work toward achieving another thing off of my list of things to do.

I'll be journalling my experience, so I hope you don't tire of the trek.

Jayhawk glory

As a fan of Kansas basketball, I must say that I've been relishing this season more than ever. Two weeks after the victory over Memphis, this fan is still riding high of the waves of one of the most memorable comebacks that this game has has ever seen. Many accolades are extended to the young men who brought the national championship home to the hallowed Allen Fieldhouse. The pride and joy this most unselfish team has brought the Jayhawk faithful goes beyond what words can describe.

I will never forgot the 2007-08 season as I had the opportunity to witness not only my 1st game in person at Allen Fieldhouse this year, but a second came also. The latter being the sweetest Valentine I've ever received. A gift from my dad to attend the home game against CU in which they celebrated the 110 years of basketball at the hallowed university. It was chilling to witness the hundreds of players that remain committed to the program fill the wooden court and be recognized by the fans who so deeply love all that has come from the program over the years. Getting to experience the game with my mom, dad and sister was icing on the cake, as we've witnessed so many games together on TV, starting before the first national championship of my lifetime in 1988.

This team is a special one. There are several of the players who have the ability to do what Michael Beasley did for the Wildcats, but their coach, Bill Self, will forever be revered for taking those 15 players and turning them into a team to achieve undoubtedly some of the most impressive statistics in the history of basketball for team play. This is something we all should strive for in our day to day lives. Not individual recognition, but personal sacrifices for the greater good. And now we're left to savor the victory and look torward the building of another legacy of basketball in this great state. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!

Insurance crime

After a long fall of waiting and anticipation, January 1, I began in a new job as Human Resources/Communications Manager. This is a nice blend of my previous experiences and allows my some opportunities for benefits administation which I've never done before. This has been a challenge thus far, learning federal regulations with the insurance industry and experiencing major frustration with all of the bureaucratic hoops small business must jump through to insure our frontline workforce in the developmental disability world. We're talking about people helping people stay in their own homes and join in our community, making (at best) $9.20 per hour. The consumers of our state are being held hostage by the rising the expenses of medical care forcing families and individuals to make choices about whether or not they can afford to continue paying for insurance. Something has to give! I just wish I had all of the answers.

The Hawks Go Down

As I am unable to sleep because of the revolving bed occupants and cover swapping involved with toddlers having colds, I sit to write and post my mixed emotions about the loss of our beloved Jayhawks to our instate rivals, the KSU Wildcats. It struck me, as I watched the multitude of students and fans rush the floor, that the majority of students at K-State weren't even born yet before their last victory in Manhattan against the Jayhawks in December of 1983. Heck, I hadn't yet broken into double digits yet myself. What a streak! I guess I'd rather this be a motivating loss to catipult us into greater play through the end of the season than losing in the Big 12 Tournament or worse yet, the big dance. My hope is that we can rebound and use this loss to drive forward and win the Big 12 and make a good run toward the national championship! ROCK CHALK! Watch out CATS!

Feeling Contemplative

As I sit between the end of a job that has brought deep meaning and purpose to my professional life and the beginning of a job that I will mold into the functions notably necessary, I contemplate the last three and a half years of my life. It has been a time for maturing into a more compassionate life being. It has shown me how many people truly live day to day in surroundings that don't meet the standards acceptable for my life and substandard to society's superficial picture. It has made me thankful for the gifts I have been given by God, first and foremost, a loving family led by my parents whose example continues keeping me grounded in my Christian roots and on the relationships with my fellow humans which define my very being.

I'm thankful for the leadership and insight given me by the women I work with whose primary purpose is to further the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities without placing judgement or extending our personal values. As it has been with all of the jobs I've ever taken, I feel very called to serve in an administrative role that I hope can bring some more order to the chaos I call my life. As I see it now, I need a position that allows me to leave my work at the office and separate home time from work. The two have become intertwined lately and I don't feel my time's been appropriately allocated to my family. I so look forward to being able to complete a job without having document what it was I did to really be finished. The documentation has become the boon of the position.

While writing is a passion of mine, regurgitating scenarios from every minute of my days has become an overwhelming burden and one that I understand the value of the exercise. I'm reminded that while we're not solely in control of the wheel of life, we are definitely steering it and have the incredible blessing to make 180 degree turns when things become out of balance. That is what had happened for me. I pray that my driving leads me to more home time allowing our family to return to being the road I'm focused on for now.