Day 4,001

Growth:

For several reasons over the past few months I’ve run into an interesting phenomena… I catch myself attempting to coach someone who is doing something I’ve attempted to do when I waas much younger. This includes personal stories with family as well as on the professional side of life. In each case I’m usually a thought or two deep when a feeling of deja vu hits. My brain pauses for a moment, and then I’m suddenly back in the past about to do the same thing I was about to coach the other person on. In many of the situations I catch myself about to give the same coaching I received.

What I’m grateful for in growth is two things. First, the understanding that we all go through so many of the same challenges, it makes it so much easier to understand and love each other as humans. Second, it reminds me to pause and ask for advice – especially now – and remember that others have been in similar spots and are likely able to pass on useful wisdom they learned through their own experience.

Remember to provide grace and coaching for those who are doing the same as you did at their age. Remember to listen for and heed the wisdom of those who’ve already done the same thing you are about to do.

Appreciation:

This evening we had one of our twice a week family FaceTime calls. Part of what has made the transition of Gavin heading off to Baltimore for school has been the ongoing contact that we still have.

Becky really blazed a great trail for all of us, to this day she still calls her parents every Sunday night like clockwork. Dominic attempted to one up her and from his freshman year got into the routine of FaceTiming us twice a week on Wednesday (now Thursday) and Sunday evenings. Gavin’s jumped right into the same practice since his first week of class.

What’s been bonus fun is that it is now all four of us hopping on together to shoot the bull and joke around for a while. Tonight we were on our call and I caught both of the boys in the same type of pose and couldn’t help but chuckle as I got a screenshot of them both with their hands behind their heads.

I definitely miss having them at home, being able to eat dinners together, and have family game nights whenever. That said, knowing that we still have a couple of nights each week in which we get to hang out as a family is a pretty sweet alternative, one I am very grateful for!

Presence:

Our morning run didn’t feel good, but it was outstanding! Between travel, the heat, prepping for the long hike from last weekend, and recovering from last weekend’s hike today was the first morning in about three weeks that I went our for a run. Crazy, it’s just kind of a core of who I am and what I do, but I just hadn’t done it for a while. Talk about discomfort – getting everything back up and moving was a little rough. My time was terrible. I made the mistake of getting new running shoes which I received the evening AFTER my previous run. My hips, which I’ve never paid any attention to, were feeling tight and stressed. Honestly, the run wasn’t good at all, kind of crappy actually… Which made it feel all the more amazing.

I’d forgotten how good a bad run can feel when viewed through the appropriate context. No one forced me to run. No one was making me go a certain distance (though Becky would have wondered if I was okay). It was 100% me pushing myself through something very uncomfortable simply because I could. And I did.

By the end I wasn’t feeling the discomfort, frustration, heavy breathing, disappointment, or anything like that. I was feeling joy. I pushed through the discomfort and got my ass in gear. And that felt great!

Thanks!!!