Keeping Pace

Keeping Pace

Archives for November 2011

Many Faces

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When I came upon this card, I had to get it. Like many of the cards I buy, the card comes first; the occasion presents itself later. The look and feel of this particular card screamed my special guy’s name — from the display. I just had to find the perfect just-because timing.

It wasn’t until later that I thought of pulling together my own collection of faces: funny, charming, and beautiful.

Although there were many competing pictures, I tried to stick to photos picturing only one person without cropping. Due to this, many of the important faces in my life were not included. I kind of like how it turned out though.

Shopping for schools

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There were many reasons for the tears welling up in my eyes as YaYa and I sat side by side in a high school gym. The muscle spasm in my right glut was just one of them. With the open house being scheduled on the same day as my half marathon I had no time for deep stretching and foam rolling following the race. As it was, I barely made it home on time. We left 20 minutes after my return home and rushed to get there on time. Now, here we were center stage and two rows from the front.

We listened to high school seniors rave about their high school experience and how a future of opportunities was theirs for the taking. Following graduation, these students would file off to only the best of colleges. My mind couldn’t help but leap forward to the day that YaYa might be in their shoes – successfully having enjoyed the bulk of his high school days and looking forward to college and beyond. The thought brought on hope and sadness all at the same time.

YaYa’s father had a love for education. I remember how proud he was to attend his oldest son’s graduation from high school. I remember how much I was looking forward to seeing BoBo do the same. But, for reasons I cannot go into, I was not able to have that moment.

Certainly these students were hand-picked for the job. Public speaking was well within their comfort level and, having obviously taken advantage of all that the school had to offer. But these four were only a few of the incredible young adults we encountered. As the tour continued, we encountered many along the way. It’s no wonder that each year nearly 1,500 applicants apply for the 400 available spots in the school. These statistics, coupled with the list of criteria that are reviewed, is enough to discourage the interested even before they have submitted their applications. And that doesn’t even take into account the cost for school tuition.

Yet, 3 hours later, we left the school totally jazzed about the possibilities this could open up to YaYa. When we returned home, YaYa started working on homework assignments due midweek. I, on the other hand, began contemplating the pain staking task of working out my body’s newest aches and pains. The foam roller was waiting.

aerial yoga

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I really love when parallels or connections are drawn from one thing to another. This is one of the reasons I was drawn to yoga in the first place.

At an aerial yoga session, the instructor roped me in right from the start. Instead of starting off the class by asking us to dedicate our practice to someone in need, she threw out the consideration of want vs. need. She started with the approaching holidays but quickly expanded to life in general. Do we find the wants of others competing with our own wants or needs? Do we find our own wants obscuring the things we actually need?

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They were great questions — and they spoke right to me – even if I didn’t have clear answers for many of them. As we began to work, she often threw out thoughts for consideration which tied into the movements of our bodies. What causes us to contract – perhaps to the point where we restrict ourselves? Can we relax and open up a little?

The class quickly moved from a level of gentle stirring, to deep stretching of the mind and body. Then came the bolder movements and thoughts which required more trust and letting go.

The pose pictured here was towards the beginning of class, when my mind was still clear. By the end of class, my head swirled dizzily with a mix of wants and needs. I retreated to solid ground and let the room stop spinning. Then, I climbed back up into my sling, let it envelope me in cocoon-like fashion, and enjoyed savasana.

Mother – Son

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Today I was lucky enough to spend some time with YaYa in Monterey. He accompanied me to the race expo to get my bib to run in the Big Sur Half Marathon on Sunday. He loves coming to race expos with me. He’s all about the samples, you know.

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