Thank You Weights!

With a new routine in life, and a tremendous amount of homework on my plate, lifting has taken a back seat to yoga and learning.  After shooting some of the final pictures for the yearbook, I headed over to the gym and completed a decent trainer session before visiting my friends, the weights.

The combo was just what the body, mind, and spirit needed! The trainer session was a bit off pace due to not much cardio of late (which will be rectified in time...), and the weights challenged me a bit more.

I know the balance of life is key, and today was one of those steps to keep my life steadily afloat on the best path. 

Thank you weights for pushing me a bit further! Thank you for your friendly rhythm! Thank you bike for reminding me that I still have it in me, and I can combine all things successfully in my way!

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!

Thank You Mom and Dad!

This is what I wrote to my parents today.  It says it all, on my day of life, and I pray that they know how much I am grateful!

Mom and Dad,

Thank you for the gift of life!  Thank you for sharing all that you have with me!  Thank you for helping me each step of the way!  Thank you for the laughter, the learning, the support, the love, the listening, the interesting food times, the long rides in a car, and more!

Thank you for doing the best that you could at a given moment!  Thank you for still being with me all these years!  Thank you for opening my horizons and heart to so much, more than what I dreamt of!

Thank you for the silly and serious times, and all in between!

I love you, and I am glad you are my parents!

Thank you for my birthday.

Love,

Me

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!

Thank You Bonas!!

Oh, it's a small, small world alright!  Yesterday at the end of the day, the science teacher in our hall came up to me and said, "You went to St. Bonaventure?"  I responded that I had.  She shared that her Dad started there, but graduated from Georgetown.  We shared a bit more, and it turns out that I lived 3 houses down from the church were her aunt's funeral mass was held.

A bit after that, at the start of yoga teacher training, I learned that 2 of the other trainees have Bonas connections.  This might not seem like much to some, but Bonas had at max 2,200 grad and undergrad students when I was there.  My undergrad class was about 500 or 530.  My grad class was very small- maybe 200 or 250. 

The irony of this was that I had copied a picture taken on campus many years ago for one of our activities today.  Yesterday I was still uncertain about the whole process, and having 3x the Bonaventure connections really helped, because Bonas and the area that surrounds it, are some of my all-time favorite places on Earth.

Thank you S., K., and A. for sharing with me a special piece of my life! Thank you for your smiles and laughter! Thank you Bonas for 5 amazing, hard-working years! Thank you for the foundation you provided me, and the opportunities you shared with me!

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!

Thank You Lunch Buddy!

I swung by the teacher's lounge today at lunch to copy quizzes, and ran into one of my favorite substitutes who has become a cherished friend! We had a magnificent chat, as we always do, and it completely helped me to de-stress from the craziness of musical chairs and vocabulary review (yep, tough day...).

Thank you lunch buddy for sharing your special stories and for listening to mine! Thank you for helping me to understand students better! Thank you for showing me a very positive example of life!

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!

Thank You Dirt!

The rains this year have made some dynamic designs on Earth this year.  Each time I run, I am awe-struck by how beautiful the shades of brown are.  They appear texture-like to me. 

Today I decided to do an impromptu photo shoot on the way home from the gym, after picking up some frozen yogurt (which remained frozen), because of a homework assignment for class that starts this weekend.  We are to bring photos and words of things that are important to us.

Every time I go out into the woods, I am grateful to run.  Some days my runs are fast, and sometimes they are barely above a slow jog.  Yet, each time I'm reminded of how blessed I am to have a body that allows me to move, and to have safe spots in which I can run freely and grow immensely as a person!

Thank you dirt and Earth for your love! Thank you for absorbing the pounding of my frame, and for keeping me honest (you cannot look too far ahead on this trail or...)! Thank you for showing me the beauty of browns and the complexities of dirt, while in a simple frame!

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!

Thank You Grandma!

I received my first letter from my Grandma today! Over Christmas break, we visited. She commented that she missed writing letters, as it seemed hardly anyone does it now a days. I asked her how often was too often to write letters, and she told me "about every 6 weeks is fine." I filed this information away, and have sent her two letters.

They were some of the first handwritten letters I have written in many years.  Today I learned about the death's of my Grandma's parents, the time when her house caught on fire, but her Mom forgot about her, and a bit more. I realized today how much I love them, and how much I look forward to my new relationship with my Grandma!

Thank you Grandma for sharing treasured memories with me! Thank you for unlocking a very special piece inside of me (writing letters to relatives) that had gone away for many, many years! Thank you for new adventures in relatives! I love you Grandma!

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!

Thank You Mother Nature Otra Vez!

I could probably write a few books of why I love nature.  I feel most at home there, and today I was able to have some down right remarkable times with the wonder that is nature!

On the way to school I kept seeing flashes of light in the sky, but that was it. Being still under the weather, I wondered if it was some secret gov. training, given where I was driving. ;-)  A few miles down the road, water came from the sky, and I realize, "nope, that's that 60% chance of rain stuff that I forgot about, so much so that I have no rain covering with me!"

Just a bit closer to school, there were streaks of jagged lightening all throughout the sky.  It was AWESOME in the most profound way!  I haven't seen lightening like that since I was in Wyoming 10 years ago.  It deeply connected with me in a positive way, and I was giddy and joyful on the way to school!

After school was done, I realized I had taken mis-matched gym shoes in my bag.  So much for packing in the dark last night with a full head of cold!  I had hoped to run on the trails today, but was concerned about the pollen impact.  With it in the high 60s, I had only one choice: chance the trails.

As I drove to the park, I saw two herons still on the grey bay.  During my run I had a close up of bright-orange duck feet!  The topping of nature's sundae was the gratitude walk loop.  I had spotted a few purple wildflowers (first of the year) on the first loop, yet when I stopped to walk earlier than planned, I found a treasure trove of flowers!

The entire hillside at the base of the trail was dotted in purple, pink, and white flowers.  They were in various stages of bloom.  Under a decaying log, were 40 or 50 tiny purple people on steady stems.  Truly magnificent!

The pic at the top of this page was taken in Patagonia, and I thought of it during this walk.  I had slowed down due to a lot of factors in Chile, and today I chose to slow down.  Taking in each step, breath by breath, I was delighted in nature's symphony of colors and growth.

Mother Nature, thank you for you! Thank you for your colors, your songs, your reminders of life and learning! Thank you for welcoming me each run, walk, and skip!  Thank you for sharing yourself with us!

For what are you grateful at this moment?

Share with me, as we celebrate being grateful!