Monday, December 31, 2007

On the mend



when deciding to write this final post for 2007 i knew i had my work cut out for me. i methodically went over all the crappy things that happened and really didn't see the point in this post at all. getting ripped off during what turned out to be a very stress filled vacation, aging family members and the onset of pre-teen angst. 2007 was literally a string of unfortunate and unruly events.

it was looking through my archives that things started to turn around.

Running Life

2007 was filled with lot's of firsts. my first 20k, my first half-marathon and my first full trail marathon.
when i decided to do a trail marathon, once i found the right one i was rewarded with some of the finest trail running terrain i'd ever encountered. discovering east bay regional trail system was by far a highlight in 2007 and while my actual race performance fell far from what i had hoped i had an amazing day.


Family Life

we lost our beloved matriarch, Grandma Tillie in March and then Papa Taylor 10 days before Christmas. My daughter M was closest to Papa and was quite literally a pillar of strength when it came to helping her younger cousins grieve. her capacity to comfort and nurture is amazing.

Personal Life

training for a marathon gave me lots of "me time" i feel truly grateful to my family for this.
i'd been thinking about returning to school for some time but it wasn't until after my marathon that i actually committed to it.
i registered for classes at berkeley community college. i start next month. i strongly suspect that there will be days when my brain will refuse to compute one more mathematical operation or i'll tremble at the prospect of yet another draft for some benign paper due, but knowing that i covered 26.2 miles of hilly ass terrain one Fall day not long ago will give me the steam i need to forge ahead.
my mantra will be: Relentless Forward Motion

i'm glad i took the time to reflect, looking back i have a less grim view of things. it seems i've been functioning in crisis mode for far too long. i have allot to be thankful for, possessions in the end are just things, Grandma Tillie and Papa left us the tools to build on a strong foundation. My daughter has her grandmas flair and her papas kindness.

so that's about it. we'll be ringing in the new year quietly on the mend at home, sipping ginger ale, hot tea and no doubt crashing long before midnight.

Happy New Year!