Running Motivates Me

I have gotten out of the habit of doing many things the last several months.  Blogging and running are just two of those things.

This morning as I was running (and my running has been so sporadic lately), I came to a couple of conclusions.

1.  I have got to get back to doing two things that I know I love doing (running and blogging).

2.  I am going to start TODAY doing those two things again.

3.  I have a plan for both blogging and running. 

Running:  I am supposed to be training for the St. Jude Half Marathon in December, and I have a training plan in place for that.  Starting this morning, I am following that plan.  No excuses.  No exceptions.

Blogging: Today marks 100 days until Christmas Day.  I know that because (1) I received an email stating that fact, and (2) Today is my birthday, and I always know that from my birthday until Christmas Day is 100 days.  So, I have given myself the challenge of blogging every day for 100 days.

Usually, setting goals and putting them on paper motivates me to keep the goal.  

My blog posts will vary in content and length, but I am committing to posting something each day.

*****I want to share a somewhat short explanation of why I have fallen out of the habit of blogging since last February.*****

1. We discontinued our satellite internet service last February.  Ever since then we have used our iPhones as personal hotspots to use the internet on our computers.  I have had a mental block regarding this.  It really is not that big of a deal to connect to my phone in order to access the internet on my laptop, but it is  perceived inconvenience. No more.  I am going to make myself blog even though it requires a tiny bit more effort than just opening my laptop and starting to type. In case you are wondering, we live in a somewhat rural area where absolutely no high-speed internet access is available except for satellite (which is overpriced, slow, and unreliable). I even contacted our public service commissioner this summer, begging him to do something so we could have high-speed internet.  They are working on it. Which means it may be years before something is available in our area.  :)
2. This is the most important reason I have not been blogging……last February my beloved father-in-law, Jim was diagnosed with cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), and to be honest, the stress of that journey and all it entailed overtook my daily life. It was a precious time. Sadly (for us, but happily for him), Jim passed from this life on July 29. My sister-in-law, Megan, blogged perfectly about our experience, and you can click here to read it.  Anyway, I was conflicted the entire time about my blogging.  From the beginning of my blog, I have purposed to keep it real. Meaning that if I had personal struggles I tried to share them, not in a way to ask for pity, but hopefully to encourage others.  I have always wanted my blog to be an encouragement to others.  I never intended to paint a false picture of "having it all together/super mom" while my personal life was falling apart.  So, when things got tough the last several months, I just stopped writing----not because I did not want to share our struggle, but because I felt like it was not my story to tell. Does that make sense?  I felt it was too personal to share someone else's illness…….on the other hand, I did not feel right blogging about the silly and mundane things happening at my house, when we were all going through such a trial with Jim.  It just didn't seem right.

But I am ready now.  

Last Saturday, my dear friends Lynn and Leanna and all of our families (17 of us in all!) ventured to the first MS State home football game of the season.  Our three families bought season tickets this year (all together---a row of 17).  Fun!  Lynn's sister and her children joined us for tailgating before the ballgame.  And, sadness!  Olivia and Julie are both far away at their own college, and will not be joining us---except for the State/Ole Miss game which will be played while they are home for Thanksgiving break.

 Jimmy and Me

Me, Leanna, Lynn, and Lesley

The game was fun….even though we LOST!  We stated for the entire game (bad decision!), and so since the game was not over until midnight, and there was the biggest traffic jam ever on campus--thousands of people trying to leave at the same time--we arrived home at 3:30 AM.

Crazy!

This is what sat in front of us!

Check out the purple and yellow checked pants.

(He was an enthusiastic LSU fan--let's just leave it at that.)

Until tomorrow…….