Everyone seems to be going with the theme of “looking back” this day and although I am usually one to look forward I don’t want to feel left out. I always use the last run of the outgoing year as a time to reflect on the last 12 months. 2008 has been a year of change in every sense of the word and its context gave me enough to ponder over on this morning’s early run through the quiet streets of our neighborhood. As I took each step I thought about the significant event(s) that marked each and every one of the past 12 months.
January: The year began with National Session in Santa Barbara, one of the highlights of my old job as an Events Coordinator. And even though I loved every aspect of this job, the National Sessions were by far my favorite weeks. This Winter Session was significant as it marked my last event. I had given notice the day we all returned from the Holiday break. Hubby and I had taken inventory of our life the previous six months and decided that it was best for us to move to our house in the desert permanently. We knew we would miss the coast that we had come to love, the community we had come to cherish and the small town feel, but we had come to the juncture where it was just time for us to move on. The Session in January was therefore bitter sweet. On one hand I was sad to say “Farewell” to faculty and students that had been part of my life for so long, on the other hand I was excited for living full time in the desert (did I mention I LOVE heat!). The two weeks of Winter Session I stayed with one of my best friends in a house overlooking the city and Pacific, the weather was absolutely perfect, sunny, balmy and deep blue skies, and I had one of the best two weeks of my life. A fitting end to a wonderful decade in one of the most beautiful places I know.
February was marked by my last day at a job I had loved for eight years. I can honestly say that I had woken up every day looking forward to going to work, without exception! I never dreaded Monday mornings or that first day after returning from vacation. I went to work with joy every.single.day! It was not easy for me to leave it behind but I realized it was the best decision Hubby and I could make for us. There was a Good-Bye Get Together, farewell cards, and a bittersweet feeling surrounding my last day in the office (in the end I got over it!)
In March Hubby reached a major milestone by turning 50. It is still hard for me to believe that the man I met before his 30th birthday is now 20 years older. As I look back on those 20 years I realize that I could fill an entire book with lessons learned, disasters averted, heartbreaks mended, and good times celebrated. He tells me he is half way through his life, if that! And it is hard to argue with such optimism and zest for life. I, for one look forward to the next half that we will be spending together in its entirety. And I hope “entirety” means forever!
When you live in the Californian desert the month of April marks the beginning of the summer season. The temperatures are starting to rise and the “snow birds” are starting to pack up and head north to the Dakotas, Minnesota, British Columbia, and Washington State. The community quiets and starts locking down for the long and hot summer season. Personally I love April as spring is well on its way and the path to the endless summer lays clear ahead. April 2008 was no different. Early on I travelled to the gates of Disney Land to meet up with good friends from my former work. By the time I got back, summer was in full swing and the temperatures reached the 90 degree mark. Good times were yet to come, or so we thought…
Unfortunately we had to get through May first. May was overshadowed by the death of my father-in-law. He had been ill for a few years but was actually doing well when we had last seen him the previous summer. In the end his cancer took over with a rapid fury and could no longer be kept in check. As we rushed to get last minute tickets booked (always a highlight!), the dog looked after, the bags packed for Welsh climates (take Wellies!) I realized that this was the first time Hubby would lose a family member and the significance and pain that this loss would bring was not lost on me (no pun intended!). I had seen my mom pass away from cancer and knew what to expect but Hubby really had no idea until the moment he walked into Dad’s hospital room and saw the extend of the ravage cancer leaves behind on a dying person. A cruel reminder to all of us who are healthy how fleeting good health and youth really are. Dad fought a hard fight, one that he could no longer win, but one he definitely fought to his last breath. We were grateful to be able to spend his last few days with him and that his suffering had come to an end. It was good to be with family and we stayed on for some time to celebrate Dad’s life.
My favorite day of the year, every year, happens in June and “coincidentally” falls on my birthday. Call me selfish but I absolutely cherish the day I was born. It is the only day of the year that solely belongs to you and I usually milk it for all it’s worth without shame! So there! It is not that I do not celebrate everybody else’s birthday but mine remains special. This one was no exception.
After the celebration for yours truly had run its course I went up to Santa Barbara in early July to honor one of my best friend’s new status as a bride-to-be. It was a fabulous afternoon in one of Santa Barbara’s backyards and I once again counted my blessings that my wedding affair was on the low key side. At the same time we rolled out the carpet for my beautiful Italian friend’s bridal shower the Gap Fire was raging a few miles up the road. Another friend of mine lives in the general area of said fire and when I checked on her I almost passed out from smoke inhalation. The conditions were beyond anything I could have imagined and the ash was covering everything in an inch thick layer of toxicity. I had never really experienced a fire this close and I can honestly say that it is not en experience I would want to live through again.
When August came around we were anticipating the descend of our Welsh relatives on our desert paradise. We love them dearly and enjoy having them around, so August turned out to be a great month. When they arrived so did the annual monsoon season. The famous desert dry air turned into a swamp and although my hair turned into an afro my skin became luminous (yeah for rains in the middle of summer!). Since the rellies live in Wales they appreciated the heat and humidity and played outside every day.
August was also the month two of my best friends packed their belongings and headed to New York City to start a four year law degree. We had a good bye party that fit them well and plenty of tears were shed, a few even rolled down my cheeks. With their departure an era came to a close that had started three years earlier with a bare chest during a Tuesday night track workout. Boo and Boo, for purely selfish reasons I wish you had chosen San Diego for grad school location but I know you are happy in your new locale and I wish you only the best. But that does not mean we don’t miss you here! Barely had we recovered from the Boo and Boo’s Good Bye when we were introduced to the “Governor from the great State of Alaska”… At which point I was not certain we would actually get to see 2009.
September came around fast and was the month in which my volunteer work for the political campaign went into full gear with phone banks into the swing states of Nevada and New Mexico. To say that is was inspiring would be an understatement. I can not recall being this energized about a “project”. It was also the month of the first Presidential debate. We had only seen the beginning… This was also the month I joined the local running club and started weekly track workouts. Those workouts have turned out not to be for the faint of heart and are just what I needed! Stay tuned!
And so October was upon us and looking back it is a blur of campaign tactics the likes of which this country had never seen. We saw the worst of one of the candidates and continued to see the best of the other, hoping that those famous “undecided voters” could see through the muck and get the clear picture of what was at stake here. This was also the month when I innocently launched an email debate with one of my friends (who I mistakingly assumed was voting the same way I would) that took on a life form of its own. Days went by where I was online without break, nights ended up sleepless at my desk writing about American History starting at the founding fathers and ending up in Germany’s health care system. It was awesome! Then I died!
But finally we made it to November and for that month I have only four words: President-elect Barack Obama!!!
As with every year December came around way too fast. It seems that every year time goes by at a more excellerated pace. As a kid it took forever for Christmas to come around, now if we blink we miss it. Maybe it is our age catching up with us, maybe we are just not enjoying every day as much as we should and as we did as children. But every year the New Year comes around sooner than planned. We had very quiet Holidays and have this week been visited by two sets of friends. Tonight we will ring in the New Year with a running buddy that ran my Boston qualification marathon with me and his girlfriend who ran my last marathon with me. I could not ask for anything more to bid 2008 farewell and welcome 2009!
Happy New Year!
Today’s Running Tip: Set realistic goals for the year ahead!
The best way to stick to a running plan as the new year begins is to set goals that can actually be achieved. This will allow you to stay motivated and successful in your running endeavors.
