This is My Dirt

This post is part of the Trail Runner Blog Symposium for September 2013:

This is 'my' dirt

As I head out the door and quickly run towards my favorite trail just above my house, I get a bit irritated as I pass a handful of other runners running down 'my' dirt.  I mean for the sake of God, I was the one who dared to run past this 'scary' house, up the dirt road that connects to the trails above for the last 7 years.  I was the only one who would use this dirt, I was all by myself and I loved every step.

I was the one who neighbors watched as I headed up the trail, with my dog in tow.  It was me who would day in, amongst changing seasons, in snow, rain, and heat that would regularly claim this dirt.  I was the expert to other runners when they asked what is the quickest way to connect to the trails. I would only spill the 'secret' after multiple times of them asking.

Now, I find you stomping on my dirt, using my 'hidden' connection, and getting in the way of my running meditation.

Now mind you, I love being adventurous and finding little bits of dirt that no one else has found (or at least I think this in my mind).  The exploration of the foothills and connecting trails, are part of the fun, the draw and enticement of trail running.  In the past, there was only a handful of moments where I would pass another human on this trail to sanity and bliss - and I loved every step of that solitude.

A hypocrite, I am.  I  love it when other trail runners divulge their secret path and tell me about a cool new trail that will connect to 'my' trail.  I love being able to use this new information and explore, hoping that I'm the only one playing there.

Now this is bliss -
alone in 'my' stomping ground

As trail running and ultras become more main stream, I'm finding my running bliss less and less.  My escape from civilization is being crashed by others who too want an escape from reality.  My inner peace waivers with the increase of people running along 'my' trails.  I'm feeling this strange need to flee farther and higher up the mountain trail. What use to be a quick 40 minute jaunt up the trails to refresh my over stimulated cranium is now needing longer time and higher distances. Soon I'll be needing the join the Sky Marathons in order to escape from reality and find my inner peace.

For now, remember this is 'my' dirt, and I have a hard time sharing it.

Re-claiming 'my' dirt -
even whilst recovering from a broken metatarsal,
cause this is 'my' dirt 

My Baby's Growing Up and I'm Not Coping So Well...

Ireland at the Yankee's game, she lost her first tooth there too.

This past month or so, my daughter and her friend (who loves to clean and de-junk, odd I know) decided to clean out Ireland's play room.  All the stuff that they thought she was 'too old' for, was quickly removed.  Bags and bags of stuff kept coming up from downstairs with the words 'donate' written across them.  I had no idea there was that much stuff down there!

The bags were piled high in the garage, so high in fact that we officially lost the north wall!  We decided to keep the bags there for a few days so we could go through them and double check that she wasn't getting rid of things she shouldn't be, and to give her a chance to re-claim anything she has second thoughts about.

A few weeks go by, before we decide to go through the bags.  We open the first bag, filled to the brim with stuffed animals!  Kyle starts pulling out the animals, he notices one in particular and holds it out.  It was one of her first Build a Bear animals - yeah, you know the kind; the hundred dollar, pull at your wallet strings stuffed animal.  He holds it up high for our daughter to see, and asks 'Are you sure?'

Work Theme -Getting ready for back to school (aka work)

Laughing Buddha
Tanzhe Temple Beijing

It's August, and that's when I start getting a bit antsy, my heart start racing, my mind won't stop spinning, I start to feel the beginning of an anxiety attack creep in.

The summer, as I've come to know it - working in the yard, Tuesday Bay day, sleeping on the trampoline (the older you are, the less comfy it is), star gazing, creative conjuring, and idyllic frolicking all come to an end.  Soon my days begin to be filled with early to bed, alarm clocks, schedules, morning scrambles, rushing here and there, deadlines looming, time slipping away, all in preparation to greet giggling grins all day long - yes it's back to work I go.

This year, my work day will be so much more relaxed.  I will embrace that working with children (and their parents) creates a whole different set of deadlines and tasks.  In fact, I'm going to remove deadlines and to-do's from my list of work related words.  No more, done, caput.  I will focus on the great opportunity that I have to share my day with children - the future leaders of America.

I will smile more.
When you smile, this breaks the ice and opens the doorway of communication.  After all, the goal of any school is to provide the best education possible for the children attending.

I will focus on the child, rather then on what the parent throws out to the world.  A child is not necessarily the  reflection of their parent (although the apple usually falls pretty close to the tree).  I can help teach children some life tools to add to their tool kit of life.  Tools and skills that will help them learn to embrace their creativity, uniqueness, passions, and life force.

This year Transformer, Flash Gordon, J&H, Caterwaul, and others, will fill me with humorous stories that I will then share with you.

My daughter will remember the funny stories I'm going to share rather then the frustrating ones of working with children and their parents (who are usually in denial).

This school  year, my work word will be:  LAUGH