It's All Good (most of the time)

Sometimes things happen in life that gives you a whole new perspective. What’s important? What’s not? It seems we’ve been asking ourselves this a lot lately as situations have been unfolding around us.

On Sunday, Dustin and I ran in our first ever trail run. The Blood, Sweat and Beers trail run was in Auburn CA and provided us with a whole new perspective on “challenging.” This was only a 5.7 mile run, however was harder then the half marathon I ran two weeks ago. I have no doubt where the “blood” comes in. The descent from an elevation of 1100 feet down to 750 on a single file rough terrain trail required runners pay special attention to their footing among the tree roots and rocks and to not let gravity take over too much. The snake like switchbacks were frequent as were the steep drop-offs over the cliff. After cautiously making your way down to 750 feet, the trail then tests your endurance with a 1200 foot climb in elevation over the next mile and a half – dubbed Cardiac Hill. Many of the runners followed the Ultra Runner’s credo: “If you can’t see the top, then walk.” In the midst of all the blood and sweat, if you were brave enough to look around at your surroundings, the views were absolutely amazing. Canyons with clear blue water running through them, lined with beautiful green trees and wildflowers. Absolutely gorgeous! I have to believe that they added the “beer” at the end only because they felt so bad for the runners enduring this torturous course. Dustin cooled off for a mere 1.5 minutes after his AWESOME run, before saying, let’s grab our beer! For those who don’t know, Dustin’s longest run ever (as of a few months ago) was 4 miles. He amazes me (Inner monologue: makes me completely jealous) each week with his natural talent and endurance. We completed the run in 45th and 46th place and challenged each other at the end. Him running with everything he had left because I was on his heels, and me running with everything I had left because I was trying to pass him!

All the while, Landon was at home enjoying some quality time with Papa Barry and Cora. This was the first time Landon has been with them alone. Landon had a great time and loved Cora’s amazing bubble blowing skills. He now asks us to blow “giant bubbles” for him like Cora did. We were also able to thank them and celebrate Papa Barry’s birthday by going out to lunch. While it was not Landon’s best dining experience ever, we still had a great time with them!

After we got back from lunch, we noticed we had several missed calls from my Mom and Steve in Michigan. A tragedy hit on Saturday as Steve’s cousin, Shawn Whaley, died while out boating with his family and friends. As it turns out, Shawn innocently enough, took a dive into the water from the back of the boat and was in much shallower of water then anyone realized. At 43, Shawn left behind a wife and two young daughters. It’s news like this that cause you to take a step back and really take an important look at the world around you and examine what’s important. In a matter of seconds, lives were changed forever. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the Whaley family and everyone that knew and loved Shawn.

Yesterday proved to be yet another day where we’re asked to examine our perspectives. While picking Landon up from school he had one of the worst tantrums I’ve experienced. Lucky me! It was awesome. Just awesome! I had one of those mortifying, “is this really my child?” experiences. The sad thing is it really happened for no reason at all. When toddlers continue to develop, they start realizing they have their own will. And well, where there’s a will, there’s a won’t. He did not want to leave school yesterday with out a sucker. Did. Not. Want. To. Leave. Period. The bloody horror of his terrible Mother who said, “no, you can’t have a lollipop. Only on Friday’s do we have lollipops.” I actually ended up carrying the possessed child out of the preschool under one arm with his arms and legs flailing wildly. Getting him into his car seat was an entire different story. I had to wrestle the kid into his car seat. Good times. I do have to pat myself on the back and proudly say that I did not couple his behavior. I did not raise my voice nor did I loose my temper. I strapped him in and then proceeded to ignore his banshee screams for the next 45 seconds. That’s it, 45 seconds until miraculously he snapped out of it. It amazes me how quickly they move on. Me on the other hand, I needed a full 40 minutes to unwind at home with a glass of wine before I was completely over the ordeal. I’m terrified to show my “My child walks all over me” face at his school today. But guess what?! If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, I’m pretty damn lucky. Life goes on. But just in case anyone is keeping track, the score is now as follows: Landon remains an only child: 7 – Landon gets a sibling: 5

Hope everyone has a great week and remember to kiss the ones you Love!

(Side note: Since I wrote this blog instead of my more talented Husband, I did not bother matching photos and witty comentary. So please, bare with me and just enjoy the pictures. However random they might be.)