health

Watch Your Step

I have never pretended to be graceful, and I always have the amazing super-power of proving why; I fall all the time.  I walk into walls, I spill things, I will trip on things that aren’t there, I have just been blessed that way.

Today while enjoying a run with one of my dear, dear friends and her 3 little girls, I managed to catch my foot on, and proceed to trip over, a slight crack in the sidewalk.  This happened 2 minutes into our run after I had made the joke that I should borrow one of the girls’ helmets because, back to the first point, I am not graceful. And sure enough I just bit it!  It wasn’t even a clean fall, it was one of those tripping, trying to catch myself for a good 6 feet, but still failing, trip.  Scraped hands and all, I picked myself up and kept going, laughing at myself along with a 12, 10, and 5 year old. 

About a mile later, the best part of my day happened when Bailey, the 5-year-old, called back to me from ahead, “Stephanie, there is a crack in the sidewalk up here, so don’t hurt yourself!”… perfect execution, and straight from the heart.

I am usually against running with people, but lately, I need it.  The option to stop is not as readily available as it is when you are by yourself, and having someone to talk to or just give you a boost, or for you to give them a boost, makes runs go by so much faster.  I didn’t realize how badly I was in need of a training buddy until today, especially one as awesome as this friend, who comes with a cheering section of 3.

Falling aside, it was a great run, and I have found my excitement for training once more!  Running is the most love-hate, turbulent relationship I have in my life.  A great run makes me feel on top of the world.  A bad run can make me feel like my life is falling apart and I can do nothing right.  It almost sounds like an abusive relationship because when it is good it’s great, when it’s bad it is the worst.  You can call me a bipolar runner; my highs are so high and my lows are so low.

But, I have found the magic ingredient that should help: a devoted running partner.  I am lucky in the fact that I love her to death, we laugh together, she is great at giving advice, and we run about the same pace.  She is perfect for me!

So onward my running partner and I shall go, tripping and all, to our half-marathons coming next month.  Hopefully her kids will be there to look out for me along the way.

So True!

And Off We Go…

There is a key habit that all writers must undertake in order to be writers, and that is to actually write.  The second would probably be to put what they write “out there” for people to read, and this brings us to here. 

Hi.

I have always been, what I considered, a natural writer.  I do best expressing myself through written word and always enjoyed putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), so it has become my life’s passion and ultimate goal to be a writer. 

Lucky for me, I took an interest to reading at a very young age, learning whatever letters I could, then reading the titles off of books in my room once I could piece them together.  My favorite workbook of choice was “Are you there God?  It’s me, Margaret”, probably because it had a number of manageable words in the title. (Side note: I never actually read the book, just went through and underlined every word I could sound out, which was really a lot of “the”.  From what I understand it’s about a girl getting her period?  Don’t ask why this was a staple in my bookshelf for as long as I can remember).

Now to the title of this blog: writing makes me happy and has always been a safe outlet for me.  I have been struggling through a quarterlife crisis for most of my twenties and have finally shifted my focus on what it is that makes me, and will make me, happy.  At the wise age of 27 (yeah, right!), I have finally accepted that happiness is a way of life, not a destination.  That phrase was first spoken by someone who was actually wise, forgive me, I forget who, but I believe it takes some level of wisdom to believe it. 

So, instead of focusing on what I don’t have, where I’m not at, and what I haven’t accomplished, I need to shift my sights on where I want to be, how I get there, and what I already have and do that makes me happy. 

Note that this isn’t a journey to get me happy, I already am a happy person, but it is an encouraging place for stepping stones on how to become the person I want to be, and hopefully can help any readers too. 

I must also note that I am a Gemini, so though this will be an upbeat blog, it will not follow the same subject at all times, but stick with me 😉

Health and Happiness!