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SUPER MOM!

Some run are easier than others. Some days I bound out of bed easy eager to get out on the path (ok not really!) and others I find every way to distract myself. Yesterday it was going to be hot and I know I needed to get out early but was still struggling while I checked my email. There was an email from a friend with a link to a FB page. I clicked, started reading and was instantly motivated. Here is the link I was sent…  Super mom and fighter boy!

A mom on Michigan was going to run on the treadmill during the entire time her young son was having brain surgery… An estimated 8 hours. I thought to myself, if she could manage her stress by running on the treadmill then I could surely manage 3 miles in the heat. I had not been having good runs lately and thought this was just the motivation I needed.

I filled up my water bottle and headed out into the furnace that is a Chicago summer day. The first part of the run was tough. Everything hurt and my muscles were not cooperating with my mind an heart. With each footfall I cursed the run. I wanted to give up and go back home. It was just too difficult to find my groove. Then I turned a corner…literally and figuratively. Coming towards me was a mom pushing a child in a stroller. They were laughing and smiling…suddenly I was reminded of the email earlier in the day. The steps didn’t get easier but now they had new purpose. I put myself in the place of that worried mother. I put myself in place of every parent of a sick or special needs child. Their steps are never easy nor light. I picked up my glacial pace to turtle and kept moving forward. At my usual turn back, I turned the other way and ran away from home. I knew that this would add miles but I was deep into my own thoughts. My mind had found its groove. The body was struggling to keep up.

I had not planned to run as far as I did and needed a water refill so I dropped into my local Dunkin Donuts. Thank goodness I am a regular and the employees know me. They gladly refilled my bottle with water and ice and I set off again back into the furnace.

Some runs are finished only because my body says so and other runs because my mind says so and then other runs are finished by my heart. This run was all about mind and heart. Body was not interested but was forced to cooperate against its will.

I returned home after 6 hot, sweaty,  inspired,  prayer filled, grateful miles with a heart and mind filled up. I thought about super mom and fighter boy. They are the true endurance athletes. The rest of us are posers. Peace.

I was chatting with a friend a while back and she described me as a “relationship person”. I took note of the comment but didn’t give it much thought at the time. Since then I have thought about that phrase a great deal.

We were talking about my job as a teacher and a new position I was offered at the school. It was a wonderful offer and a position I would like however I really was not sure if it was the right time for me to move. I struggled with this choice for weeks. After talking it over with my friend, I made a choice. I chose to stay put.

I was unsure if I had made the right choice. I am a “relationship person”. I like building relationships with the people on my life, especially my students. I enjoy seeing them grow, change and develop into wonderful young adults.

It was in the weeks that followed that I realized that I had made the right choice. Former students came back for May Crowning and told me that I was the only teacher who remembered their names. We laughed, reminisced and they told me of their future plans. It was the first of many signs that I had done the right thing.

Since then I have run into former students everywhere; the grocery, the gym, the mall, you name it. They tell me of their success and failures. They tell me of adventures. They share memories. The most important thing I notice is that I remember them all…each and every one…by name. I not only recall their names but memories from when I taught them.

I remember the 6th grader who collected all things firefighter and is now wearing the uniform himself. I remember the girl who was defiant and hard to reach as she now reaches out to others as a nurse. I recall the girl who struggled with punctuation but now researches and publishes important documents. I think of the girl who could not contain a box of crayons and now travels the world. A young man walks into the library with a load of books and I recall the boy who hated to study as he now crams for an exam. I remember a girl who needed someone to talk to and someone to believe in her as she now heads to college a confident self assured young woman. I think of those students who I don’t see or meet and wonder where they are. I worry about those students who had trouble with me all those years ago and wonder if they are still struggling. The students and memories flood my mind like the flood waters of the Amazon. It is overwhelming at times to think of the students I have taught and the lives touched. I am so proud of them all and wish I could tell each and everyone of them that they have all made me a better teacher and mother.

There are days I wonder if I am in the right profession. Meeting a former student reminds me why I really love my job. I see the result of my work in their eyes. I see the fabulous future they are creating for themselves. I see that together we create memories and ….relationships. Peace.

The day dawned with an early and rude alarm clock sounding at 4:30. I got dressed and geared up for the long day ahead. I woke 12 shortly before we were to leave. Once she was dressed, we loaded up the car and once TC arrived,  we headed towards the Lake. Early morning means little or no traffic on the expressway so we flew towards the Soldier Field. We unloaded the coach bins, gifts and tutus from the truck and set up our ‘camp’ under our SPC banner in the grassy field outside the stadium. 
Eventually the girls and families began to arrive. My coach team of 12, TC and I prepped each girl as she arrived with her runner number, tutu, “rockstar” ribbon ties on their tshirts, and glitter hair spray.  Girl power was the name of the game.
Soon all the girls were dressed and ready to get started. We were in a very late start corral and the day was already beginning to warm up so I had a ‘discussion’ with those at the entry of the corrals and we were eventually allowed to start much ahead of schedule.
The girls were soon off on their 3 mile journey. It had taken them 8 weeks to prepare for this day but now they were running….the rubber had met the road. As the girls ran, my team and I gathered the season ending gifts for the girls as well as taking photos and before I knew it, girls were finishing!  WOW!  For a hot day, they were running FAST!
As the girls finished they returned to ‘camp’ red and sweating from the distance. Parents and running buddies soon followed beaming with pride. As the morning wore on the heat intensified and finishing became more difficult but all the girls from our team finished as did their running buddies.

I could not have been prouder of these little dynamos!  They not only ran with tutu spirit but with pride….pride that comes from knowing they did their best. The feeling they have now is one I hope they soon don’t forget….the feeling that they are powerful. The feeling that they can accomplish anything they set their mind to. The feeling of pride in a job well done. The feeling that they are strong, beautiful human beings.

Deja Vu you say? Yes, hours later I returned to Soldier Field and it looked as though my sparkly girls had never set foot on the grounds. The place was all clean and there was no sign that earlier hundreds of girls had crossed more than a finish line.

We waited in a beautiful room overlooking the Lake before being escorted to the Skyline room for a wedding. To one side was a view of the south side of the City and McCormick Place as well as the Planetarium. To the other side was a view of the playing field and the skyline of the city.  My BRF (best running friend) was marrying her BFF(best flipping fiance).  Her dream was coming true today as well. As the bride and groom entered the room, I could first feel her excitement and joy before I could see it. The love in the room was palpable. We danced and ate and ate some more. The food was wonderful but the company and views of the city as the sun set were magnificent.

At dark we all exited the room and met on the south lawn. It was time to light Chinese Lanterns. What a magnificent sight to watch then float up into the night sky carrying prayers for a long and happy life for bride and groom.

What a day!  A day filled with dreams coming true and goals being met. A day of love and power and positive energy.  A day that filled this woman’s heart with emotion to last a long time. Peace.

Some are straight and some are topsy turvey. As roads would have it, there are crossroads in life as well. The most confusing, baffling, difficult whatever you call it, is the crossroad in life.

When we face a crossroad, the mind comes to a standstill as to which road to take. Which road is going to take us where? There are few roads, which will lead you to happiness, fame, glory, and fortune, but on the other hand there are few which would take you towards sadness, failure, defeat, disappointments.

We have to decide which road we would take with completely no clue where we going to land at the end! No assurances ….No guarantees! Since life offers us no guarantees and assurances, it’s better to take that risk and make that decisions because unless we don’t decide, and go that way we will never know whether the decision was right or wrong.

Instead of standing on the crossroad it is better to move forward. It’s not always that the road, which we think is right for us, that is going to give us happiness, there are certainly going to be heartbreaks. You might not achieve what you had thought, but at least you tried. We really do not have power on the outcome but we definitely have the power of our decisions. Taking risks, does not mean to decide in the spur of a moment! Think and then move forward.

If we had known that the road we are choosing is a wrong one and it can make us lost, or the outcome is going to be bad, we would have never have decided to go that way. We will only know about the outcome once we walk that road, whether the decision was correct or worthless.

When we have to choose, we need to analyze the options we have, sometimes we have many options, sometimes very few and sometimes none at all. We need to weigh the pros and cons, and create options of our own if we don’t have any!

We cannot find the confidence to decide at times, especially when we have no idea what the consequences are going to be. Trust yourself and think that it’s the best decision at that point of time. Do not regret it whatever the outcome, learn from it and make better decisions in future. Always remember life will give us more chances to make right decisions.

And after all, I believe it’s all the matter of perspective, as to what you want to be a lost traveller or accidental tourist, because you never know which road opens which new horizon! peace.

Memories and remembrance have been a theme for this long weekend. It began last Thursday with Memory Day for my 8th grader. Mass was followed by a morning of awards, speeches and photos. Watching the sideshow looking back and remembering days gone by made me sad on so many levels. I was sad that moments in time had slipped away. I was sad that friends and teachers had passed on. I was sad that my little curly girl had grown up right before my eyes and was leaving the safe place she had called home for 11 years. Sadness permeated my soul.

I was reminded by the priest at Mass that we remember the bad more than the good. Why is that? I wanted her to remember every moment of her time in school. Not just the bad. I wanted her to remember the good and great times too. I wanted to pause, breathe and commit this morning to memory. I wanted to freeze this moment in time. So I took pictures and mental snapshots of this last morning together. Her final day as an 8th grader.

This weekend was also Memorial Day. Saturday morning I ran a 10 mile race dedicated to freedom and veterans. I really focused my energy on those who have given their all for my freedom. Crossing the finish line was done with a dance….a dance of liberation and freedom. A dance of gratitude.

I am grateful for all those men and women who have put on and will put on a uniform to protect the warm blanket of security and freedom I sleep under each night. If there is one thing I hope to instill in my own children and the children I teach is gratitude to our military men and women as well as their families. Our military sacrifice so much on a daily basis and some pay the highest price for all we hold dear. There is a time and place to disagree with the government and politicians. Taking these frustrations and aggravations out on our military is not only unfair to them but disrespectful. The average age of enlisted personnel is 20 years old. Many join up not being able to legally drink but they can legally die for their country. Many enlist to gain education and assist in supporting a family. Many have never left their home state and before they know it they are halfway around the world in a place they have only seen in books or on t

Military service is a task many of us would not choose for ourselves or our children. It is not easy nor glamorous but it can be rewarding. It is our job to reward these heroes and she-roes on a daily basis by thanking them for serving our country. It is our job to assist their families in any way possible. It is our job to remember …. The bad and the good ….. but mostly the great. peace.