Work In Progress

I'm still not ready to officially announce anything yet.  But I am getting closer to actually making the change and made some commitments to do this.  It's good, I promise.  But it is also a big, HUGE, scary step for me.  A leap of faith.  It is not a sudden change and will take a great effort from me and sacrifice from the rest of the family.  I am so blessed to have my family and friends on my side.  They all support this change.  My family is willing to make the adjustments that will be necessary - some definite, others possible.  It is a family commitment. 

I watched the movie "Faith Like Potatoes" this summer.  Check it out on Netflix if you haven't seen it yet. The farmer takes a huge leap of faith and puts the success and future of his community in the hands of God and a field of potatoes during a drought.  This is kind of how I feel.  I am in my own personal drought.  I am making a big change, a risky change, that I have prayed about, but that could be foolish and wasteful. I won't know until afterwards if it was wise and will benefit our family and community.  I have to trust God and pray that the sacrifices, time, and efforts will be worthwhile.

A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven

I'm not yet ready to make it public, but I am seriously contemplating a major life change.  I have been researching the possibility. I have talked it over with my husband, our older kids, my mom, and some close friends.  Each time I think there is a stumbling block or a potential obstacle, my family has been able to find a reasonable solution or an solution is presented, unrequested, from outside sources.

It is pretty huge, at least to me. And it isn't something I had ever considered before.  But too many pieces are falling into place for it to be a coincidence or a whim.  This seems to be the time for this change....

Neat-o! Look at my new skills!

I revised my post on the mud race to add photos!  My sister-in-law took pictures on race day and I had my brother email them to me so I could share them here and on Facebook.  I feel so proud of myself!  You have to promise not to try to find my wonderful family for stalking and other nefarious purposes.  Cross your heart.  Cross it!  Cross it!

See?  Didn't I tell you awe-inspiring? 
Isn't this stock photo awe-inpiring?

And I changed font size and color on the word mud.  Did you see it?  Did you?  Did you?  I feel like a whole new level of blogging has opened up to me! (Cue dramatic music.)  Be prepared for all sorts of amazing and awe-inspiring effects to show up in future blogs. 

Mud, Glorious Mud!

Filfthy Four: Millville Mud Run

I had a very dirty weekend.  A few cousins, their friends, my teenaged son and I all played in the mud.  OK, we were a team for a cancer charity mud run.  It was 4 hot, dusty miles of looping around a motorcross race track (with complimentary motorcross races occuring simultaneously with our race for added atmosphere) and  a bunch of mud, tires, and hay obstacles mixed in for variety every 1/4 -1/2 mile or so.  Some of the obstacles were just one element, some were a combination.  I think my son's favorite was the mud trough that was about 12 feet long and 3 feet deep  - oh, and with a gushy, muddy bottom that you sank into another 6 inches.  I personally loved the tire tower that most people gingerly climbed over using hands and feet.  Playing with my toddler on our local playground that is made entirely of railroad ties, chains, and tires was great training for this race.  I just walked right up the tower and back down the other side.

Headling over the last berm!

The last element on the course was a group of deep, wide, muddy water pits separated only by steep, muddy berms that rose up 2 feet above the muddy water.  These were all under a cargo net and strings of triangle flags so the only option was crawling through the mess and then crawling up and over those berms.  If you were somewhat clean before, you weren't anymore!  When I finished, I had mud caked on my feet, knees, hands and spread all over.  My toddler looked at me kind of funny, didn't say a word, started digging in my mom's purse and pulled out one tissue.  He carefully tried to clean the mud off my hand, touching me only with the tissue, so he wouldn't get any on himself.  After a few ineffective swipes, he frowned up at me and told me I needed a shower.  I asked him for a kiss before I went over to the hoses to wash the majority of the mud off.  He reached his lips to me for a kiss, all the while staying as far away from me as he possibly could.  Oh, my.  It was funny to see!

My mom decided this was the perfect race for me.  When I was a high school cross-country runner, every year we would run an invitational meet and the state meet at the same park, in the same month.  At every race, the course was a sloppy, muddy mess.  We never ran the course in nice weather.  It was always a rainy, snowy, sleeting, yucky mess of precipitation.  But, oh how fun the mud was!  And the whole course was a giant mud slide!  No PRs there! 

Going back even farther into my childhood, my mom also likes to remind me of all the times I came home from school wet to the knees on rainy days.  I had the appropriate rain gear, but I loved to splash in the puddles on the 1/2 mile walk home.  And the puddles were always soooo big, I couldn't possibly walk around them!  At least that was the story I stuck with every time.

Here I am getting ready to cross the finish line.

All in all, I think this was a great weekend for running.  I ended up with skinned knees from the stones mixed in the mud, so I feel 10 again.  I ended up muddy from head to toe and ran with my teen son, so I feel like a teen running at that park again.  I ran with my cousins who are all in their 20s, so I feel like a young adult again.  I ran at my slow pace that I have come to accept as the norm for me, so I feel like my super grown-up 40ish self.  How often in your life can you have the experience of all those ages of life at the same time?

Everyday Miracles

Children.
Childbirth.
Believing.
Sunset.
Stars.
Moon.
Sunrise.
Leaves turning orange.
Love.
Technology.
Flowers blooming.
Snow.
Thunderstorms.
Wine.
Kindness.
Engines.
Vision.
Hearing.
Taste.
Touch.
Smell.
Seeds.
Rising bread.
Hope.
Potty training.
Toddlers minds.
Music.
Forgiveness.
Math.
Physics.
Chemistry.
Biology.
Microwave ovens.
Freezers.
Faith.
Jesus.

Simple Blessings

Warm, dry home.
Family.
Health.
Good food every day.
Jobs.
Paychecks.
Friends.
Happy children.
Running.
Nice clothes.
Vehicles that work.
Good childcare.
Great work team and supervisor.
Volunteers.
Laughter.
Pain.
Trials.
Challenges.
2 1/2 year olds.
Potty training.
15 year olds.
Independent college students.
Responsibilities.
Health bars.
Tofu.
CSA.
Comfortable bed.
Bible study.
Church family.
Medication.
Running stores.
Books.
Movies.
Safety.
Love.
Husband.
Everything He provides.

When I Grow Up

Remember saying that as a child or even a teen? Always imagining what career we would have, where we would live, what our lives would be like. Well, I am grown up - I suppose - and there are still so many times that I wonder "What will I become?"  I love teaching and have an MS in Reading and Literacy. I love the non-profit that hired me a few years ago. I volunteered for the organization for several years before becoming a staffer. My family has benefited greatly from their participation, too. But still, when I am at loose ends, or just in idle moments, I find myself wondering "What will I be when I grow up?"

In the last 10 years or so my answer has run the gamut from professional quilter (with a full-size quilting machine to boot) to story-teller (I'm actually really good at that!) to mission teacher in a foreign country. I have considered these all seriously enough to research them.  My latest idle thoughts, however, have gone back to something I considered as a "side job" several years ago. Writing. Professional writing. I used to think I could be a novelist. But now I'm thinking more along the lines of non-fiction - reporter of how I see life, sort of thing. I know there are tons of those out there and I don't know if I could set myself apart enough to get published...if I ever got serious enough to actually send anything out.

I mentioned briefly in a previous post that I've dreamed of being an ultra-runner. I've even had the wild hare thought that I could run cross-country - literally cross....country, like Forest Gump cross-country - and cronical the experiences along the way.  Several people have ridden bicycles cross-country with little or no support.  Only, I'd really have to get serious about running ultras in the first place before seriously contemplating that.  And then I'd have to figure out if I would have a crew or just go it alone.  A long time ago, I read about a man who hiked the whole Appalachian trail.  To ensure a decent meal, shower, and bed at least once a week, he would make reservations at a fine hotel further down the trail and mail his clothes, etc. ahead. 

I could do that, right?  Only running the distance.  I'd probably have to run a few ultras to get used to the time on my feet.  Then maybe across the state.  Then build up so that I maybe could run farther.  So if I were going to write about this adventure, I'd probably need some sort of crew and vehicle so I'd have access to a laptop, food and a place to sleep so I'd have energy to run and write the whole journey.  Whose the first crew member on the bus to support this grand scheme of mine?  ;)  And how do I finance it????