Growing up...

I think about Mandy's trip on a constant basis right now. Mostly its just that she'll be ready to go, won't forget, or be missing anything and that I get her to the plane on time! (she leaves July 3 early afternoon) I'm taking off July 2/3 so any last minute things won't be an issue. Friday night we went to MEC to get her a backpack (one that rolls and has a daypack attached - way cool). After I actually get her on the plane then I can settle into the monumental task of waiting patiently for her to return (safe & sound). I'm so excited for her to go and experience this trip of a life time. At the same time I'm terrified of her being half a world away. I will miss her. I remember the first time she went to camp. A week at Moose Lake, 2 hours away, she was 8 or 9 years old. We got her all checked in, Samantha was excited to see her off. While we toured the camp a little bit we realized the black flies were biting - Samantha did not like that one bit! Her excitement quickly turned to dismay. Samantha was crying inconsolably. You know the cry, where they try and talk and it comes out like someone is stepping on their stomach, with wrenching breaths in between?? "I - don't - think - W E - should - leave - M A N D Y - here". She was a mess. It completely distracted me from the same feeling as we watched Mandy skip off to be with kids she didn't even know. so fearless. As we drove away I sat facing the back seat for 20 minutes holding Samantha's hand as she cried and cried. I didn't get to indulge in my own feelings of loss or anxiety. I had to be brave for Samantha, my crying would surely have sent her over the edge.

I'm thinking Samantha will come to the airport on the 3rd. Good thing. I'll need her there, only this time I'm wondering if she will distract me. Or maybe it will be her turn to hold my hand.

WOW!

Pretty proud of DH!! He did the ½ on Sunday in the MB marathon and did AWESOME – his actual time was 1:30:25 I believe. 4th in his age group and 46 OVERALL – out of 3951 runners doing the ½!!! He did the Winnipeg Police Service ½ in May and bettered his time by almost ½ a minute. His knee had been bugging him a little this last while so wasn’t sure if he’d run it. He only signed up a few days before… The event atmosphere was awesome. So many people. The only downside - as we waited for some of his friends to pass by – we watched paramedics working on a runner who went down just 1km or so before the end. Brutal. It was a scorching morning and people were dropping like flies on the course or as soon as they crossed the line. More power to the people who have run their own race, no matter what their finish time. My heroes…

Something New??

I truly don't have time for a new sport in my life, but I thought I would try something new. My girlfriend from work made a deal with me - she'd come volunteer at 6:30 in the morning for our inline marathon last year - and my part of the bargain - try a boxing class. I was supposed to give it a shot as soon as skating season was over but one thing led to anther which led to Christmas which led to New Years which led to February, which led to a sprained ankle - you get the picture LOL.

So Wednesday I get this text - come to boxing tomorrow, Jenny from work will be a newbie with you! So I hemmed and I hawed, I made sure Mandy had a ride home from band, made sure Tim would be fed (somehow) and all was set. I had a nagging feeling I'd forgotten something, but whatever. Seemed like as good a time as any to inflict pain on myself. Wasn't till mom phoned yesterday and reminded me they were coming over - DOH! Well good daughter that I am, I considered bailing on the idea of torture, but no, mom said they were kind of tired and would come another night.

There I was skipping, doing pushups, running (literally) around the building, doing stairs till I almost puked and learning the good ol 1-2 punch. Oh my word. Normal activities are fine, but my fore arms are SORE. I'm optimistic that tomorrow will be better, oh wait, doesn't it get worse on the 2nd day? Ugh, I'm fine. I didn't get injured, I'm just a little sore, the good sore. The kind of sore that says - DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN. Well maybe one day, but I think I would have to increase my fitness level first, I can safely say I have absolutely no upper body strength. Then there is the time involved - I left the house at 6:10 and didn't roll back into the driveway till almost 9:30 - a long night at the end of a long day. Course it would have been easier just to stay in town instead of running back and forth but I FORGOT MY RUNNERS! Jeepers! Something tells me they wouldn't have let me do the drills in my crocks.

Mantra: A commonly repeated word or phrase

I just read the most amazing statement. I'm keying a database, compiling names and addresses from several sources. One of the sources is a membership directory with information on each member. Each member was asked to answer several questions:

My favourite part of my job is:
If I could choose another career/profession it would be:
My favorite group/song/music is:
My favorite actor/movie is:
My most favorite thing to do is:
My mantra in life is:

Now the interesting thing is, is that everyone who knows me - knows I believe. I believe everything happens for a reason (is that my mantra? that's one of em!)

I'm going through this directory as fast as possible, only stopping on the ones I'm actually supposed to key in. Then something grabs my attention and I read the mantra of someone who won't be on my new list.

"Look at what you already have when searching for happiness."

How simple is that. How blessedly simple. Not much to it, don't have to decipher or dissect it. Just look at what you ALREADY have when searching for happiness.

My answers...

My favourite part of my job is: watching what comes next.
If I could choose another career/profession it would be: something I'd have to get some book learning for.
My favourite group/song/music is: right now?? Waking up in Vegas (like the song, not the artist)
My favourite actor/movie is: Moulin Rouge - Ewan McGregor!
My most favourite thing to do is: laugh with my family & friends
Can I add a favourite book here? TWIGHLIGHT SERIES oh ya!

My mantra in life is: 1: treat others the way you want to be treated. 2: make your own fun.