Taper Madness, this time around, has been anything but maddening. Instead of being irritable and antsy, I am cheerful and excited. It’s a good place to be.
I’ve got a lot on my plate this coming week. My biggest worry is how I’ll manage to get enough sleep. Okay, maybe that AND my presentation for my business meeting. Anyway…
On this glorious day, I laced up my shoes for one final (sort of) long run before race day. It was nice mix of beauty and hills. It was exactly what I needed.
This morning, I saw my future boyfriend again. He was eyeing me from behind his pew. I stared back but he didn’t look away. His caramel-colored eyes had the affect of melting me and he knew it. So, I fought fire with fire; I flashed him a smile like only I can do. And that did the trick.
He reached out…
Okay, I will confess; I check my statcounter daily. Sometimes, in fact, I check it numerous times each day. I guess it gives me reassurance that my words are reaching someone — anyone.
Within a few clicks I can visually see that I have readers from all over the world. It’s awesome and somewhat frightening all the same. Who are you-who-never-leaves-a-comment? I wish you would.
I watch the numbers go up and down. This week, they are way down. And last week, they were basically down except for one reader who seemed to be reading back through the posts I’d written around the time of my husband’s death. I clicked over to see what they were reading and fell into my world nearly 3 years ago. Compared to now, I was A LOT more lost and sad back then.
Anyway, when you take out the clicks of this one reader, the statcounter tallies reader-draught and leaves me wondering why. Perhaps it’s simply that I am hardly running and therefore not writing about running. I have to wonder if the Daily Photo project takes away from this blog and if it belong in a blog all it’s own?
I’d like your feedback. I’d say stand up and be counted but you are being counted already. I just may not know you via comments. To those willing, please let me know your honest thoughts on the Daily Photo project, my writing of late, or any other feedback you may have.
I nearly spit my coffee across the room while listening to the morning news. The breaking news story described how 5 students at a high school had gone to the hospital after eating drug-laced brownies. I’m sickened to think about how common place drugs in the schools appears to be. Apparently the students were only counting on marijuana in their brownies rather than the bonus substance that sent at least one into convulsions.
Hours later, I was playing yard duty at YaYa’s school. Another day of rainfall left me roaming the hallways instead of out on the blacktop. Popping my head into room after room, I got a chance to check out the students there. Each class room was a different as apples and oranges, although all the students were polite and well behaved.
When I popped in on YaYa’s class, I made sure to say hello. As usual, he was one of the last to finish his lunch. I swung past his desk to see how much of his lunch he had eaten. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I spotted the brownie sitting beside his mixed fruit. Instead of yelling “Don’t eat the brownie!” I smiled and asked “How is that potpie?”
I’ve never been more relieved to know the man in charge of the hot lunch program. Still, of all the days to serve brownies, it would have to be today.
There’s something very energizing about spending time with young adults. I find this especially true of those who have a vision, no matter how small, of their future and are open to an exchange of ideas. They are open books to some extent, with both introductory pages that they want to share as well as blank pages just waiting for the right idea to arrive.
I had the pleasure of talking with a few young ladies tonight, one who will graduate in June and target device companies for her first industry job. Talking with her took me back in time to when I was graduating from college freshly armed with my degree in nursing. I was lucky; I had already landed a position in the critical care unit at a local trauma center. I was set. I just needed to pass my NCLEX exam.
Now, many years later, I feel so blessed with all my nursing license has allowed me to experience. From the hospital to pharma, my career has evolved, allowing me to adapt to the changes in my life. As I listen to these young adults, and also as I think of my boys, I note how different today is from when I was younger. It’s hard not to worry about them and wonder if they have all the tools they need to survive in the current work force. Certainly, I worry if I myself have the necessary tools at my own disposal.
These young adults are our future and they are emerging from college at a scary time. But they, with all of their enthusiasm, are brave or naive (take your pick) in their journey. Regardless, the future awaits…
Their stories are just beginning and there are so many blank pages to fill. I pray that they will keep their enthusiasm, chase their dreams, and make this world a better place because of it.