Another Reason to Love My Life

Eagle Island State Park

I have a bowl of tomatoes on my counter - remnants of a bountiful garden. There is a pot of Butternut Squash Soup simmering on the stove top – my first attempt. The squash is also part of the last of the harvest. A batch of cinnamon rolls is baking in the oven – an overdue gift. As I look out the window, gold colored leaves scatter the green lawn, reminding me that there is work to do outdoors. The swaying trees also remind me that there is more work to come. The weatherman is promising snow for the weekend.

Scotch Pines Golf Course

I am trying to live in the moment. In the spring I can't wait for my newly planted garden to produce. In the fall I pray for a frost to slow the workload! Today, however, I am enjoying the season with its beauty, its unpredictability, and its ever changing vistas. As I roam the country roads, I marvel that the green and gold fields so recently blocking my view have become beige carpets neatly groomed and awaiting the interruption of spring. The wind, tho it hinders my forward progression, cleanses the air and clarifies the horizon.

I know that the thundershowers and snowstorms are coming. They, too, will have a beauty of their own. Today, I glory in the colors of the season.

Ready or Not!

Someday I’m going to write another book entirely about pain. In the meantime, I’ll share a few thoughts about the subject. I do not believe that life should be lived pain free. Rather, the goal is to live life in spite of pain.
I am a runner. This is a relatively new definition of me. I began running two and a half years ago. I don’t especially love running. Running loves me.
Why I run …
It is a cheap form of exercise. The only equipment needed is a good pair of shoes. No membership fees, no fuel expenses, nor any special gear is required. A few cute running shirts and pants are fun, but they are not critical to participation.
It is convenient. Just step out the front door.
It improves other parts of my life. I have greater endurance during other activities such as waterskiing and snow skiing. It makes me sweat and that has to be good. I have a great blood pressure reading.
I am afraid of age onset diabetes.
What I have learned …
Running hurts. As a non-runner I often supposed that running was easy for runners. It is not. If running were easy it would be called walking.
Injuries happen. They are mostly of the strain and tendonitis type, but injuries do happen.
RICE. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.
Vitamin I. (Ibuprofen)
Pain does not always mean “Stop!”
Pain sometimes means “STOP!”
Where the fun is …
Racing.
5Ks and 10Ks.
Sprint Triathlons.
It’s not about them (those real runners passing me) it’s about me.
Talking about the races. Wearing the goofy race t-shirts. Thinking about the next race. Cheering on fellow racers. Looking around and seeing how far you’ve come.
Mostly, the fun is, knowing you are doing something painful today that will help you stick around longer tomorrow.

Rats!

Raging rains wreak ruin as rapidly rising rivers run rampant o'er rocks resting risking rafters' recreation rudely wrecking our reunion!

Just a little cerebral exercise when writer's block threatens.