A Very Good Weekend and Renewed Outlook

This has been a pretty good weekend for me. I didn't work (shh, don't tell anyone) or wallow alone at home in a funk. I got myself outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I even got some exercise.

About mid-morning Saturday I decided it was time to dig up the five bushes that line my walkway. If you want to experience some hard physical work or get out some pent up aggression, just try chopping at the roots of some thorny bushes! I managed to get at least one yanked from its stronghold under my sidewalk and at least got the dirt dug out around the rest before having to leave for a few hours. Thankfully, daughter #2 (D2) and son-in-law decided to surprise me and pulled the rest out with their old jeep while I was gone.

Midway through the bushwhacking, daughter #1 (D1) needed a big favor. She had an unexpected photo shoot and needed someone to watch her two youngest daughters and take one of them to her softball game. So, I put away the shovel and spade, got semi cleaned up and took them to lunch and then to the softball game. It was fun watching 7 & 8 year old girls play softball. It was also fun racing the younger one to the car and back to the ball field.

After getting back home and seeing that the rest of the bushes had been yanked out, I decided to head out to the state park where D1 and her family had been camping since Thursday. Now, in case you're confused about D1, she has this really bad habit of trying to do too many things at once. She knew her daughters had games on Saturday but took them camping anyway since the campground is only 30 miles away from where we live. But, she got a call on Saturday about a last minute photo shoot from a current client and felt she couldn't/shouldn't pass it up. In the meantime, her husband and oldest daughter stayed with the camper.

Anyway, D2 and her family went out to the camp ground for a cook out and I decided, after a much needed shower, to venture out there myself. I grabbed my running shoes and Garmin, made a quick stop at the store and surprised everyone. Before dinner, I got the granddaughters to run with me. We just did 1 minute intervals, walk 1/run 1. The girls loved running with me as much as I loved running with them. We only did about six of these, but it felt great. I felt so refreshed! I just couldn't believe it. I contemplated doing another round of intervals, but it got too dark and late and I needed to head home.

Today I still felt great. A bit sore, but great. After reading some of the blogs that I follow, I ran some errands, did some shopping and met a friend for a movie late this afternoon. She had been wanting to get together for a movie for a few months, but for one reason or another, I kept backing out. But today I decided to heck with everything else (work, laundry, cleaning) and had a really nice time.

About a week ago, I came across a quote on another blog that really hit home with me so I wrote it down. I believe this woman had heard it from someone else. I can't remember the name of the blog off hand, but when I do, I'll definitely give her the credit for the quote. The quote is - "You have to let go of the life you have to make room for the life you want". The life I want is more calm in my life, good health, closer relationships with family and friends and more positive life experiences. But, if I'm to achieve the life I want, I have to let go of the stresses of work, open myself up more to others and let them get to know me, do what it takes to get and stay healthy and set goals to help me accomplish all of this.

I have made a pact with myself that, unlike last summer, I will not let work interfere with my ability to enjoy this summer. I will get out of the house more, meet with friends more, go to more of my granddaughter's softball games, hike more, and RUN MORE.

Who knew that running for six minutes could have such an impact on a person's outlook! It's time to get back in the saddle, in this case the running shoes, again.