Taking time to fully relax and chill doesn’t always come naturally to me. I like staying busy and find that I enjoy time working and creating and being active. Pausing to do nothing kind of drives me bonkers. I still remember a time in Hawaii while in a action when a friend told me I had to quit pacing and relax, my nervous energy was making her anxious. There I was in paradise and in a perfect spot to chill, but my body and mind just weren’t ready to.
Cue a soccer weekend! Spending time in Madison with Gavin this weekend has involved much bonus time to sit still. With the first of our backpacking trips coming up I know I should be resting my legs a bit so they’re fresh. Left to my own devices I’d find an excuse to be exercising them today, probably hiking.
The forced rest / quiet time has been a very positive experience for me over the past 24-ish hours and I can feel my stress levels drop and my stillness increase. It feels pretty awesome… in small doses 😉
Talk about perfect soccer weather! The sun is out but not unbearable. There’s a calm breeze blowing. There are just enough clouds to break up a little sun. The weather is great. It smells like freshly cut grass. Long story short, it’s perfect soccer weather.
While typing this I am sitting alone in my car with the windows down. The boys already had their first game and are warming up for their second game. Earring them home and laugh while kicking the balls around has me smiling. They aren’t laying back or sitting down exhausted, they’re right back at it and full of energy. How awesome that they are enjoying the nonstop engine of youth.
Over the past week there’ve been a few moments in which something happened which sparked a deep understanding of lessons I’ve learned in the past. Seeing the situations from afar it was easy to to do the obvious and question how they happened without being taken care of immediately. In a matter of minutes I developed a sick feeling in the pit of my gut. I’ve fallen victim to the same mistakes.
Life is a trail, each step a lesson, each turn an opportunity to choose how to move forward.
Today I’m grateful for these difficult situations as they are reminders and guideposts for me for future behavior and strategy.
One lesson I was reminded of was how quickly, and insidiously the erosion of a great culture can occur. When culture and values are not focused on, encouraged, and enforced the actions of a team can quickly slide. Small and simple behaviors can have a tremendous impact – for better or worse. A busy day that results in an area not being cleaned may not seem like a big deal in of itself, but if it is not quickly corrected the next day will see less cleaning and more waste will pile up. At a certain point the task of cleaning becomes so daunting that it is completely skipped, and then the entire operation becomes a garbage bin.
Small actions can quickly add up and erode a culture. How many times have I looked away instead of taking action? How often do I take a shortcut instead of taking the time to fix the situation? Should I focus on our values more to keep them at the forefront and the standard operating process of our culture? So much to consider and think on.
When looking several steps and months ahead I know I can get my best work done. I’ve got more options, more flexibility, and more possible solutions to challenges I won’t know about until the end date gets closer. If I pause, think through the end goal, start way earlier than I feel like I should, and set a plan in place with a forgiving timeline I am more assured of success.
This lesson was embedded into my thought process again recently as I saw the problematic side of winging it and over committing. There are less solutions. The challenges that come up are more difficult. The work needed adds up to significantly ore than would have been needed with planning.
In pondering this it reminded me of times when I gave myself less time than needed. I pushed hard towards a goal without enough time because I failed to fully prepare and build a timeline. My goals have failed because I didn’t provide the resources needed at the very beginning to get off on the right track. No one to blame but myself for the failure, frustration, and wasted energy. What projects and tasks do I have ahead of me that I haven’t given the appropriate time to? Where should I pause, breathe, re-group, and plan in order to be successful?
Both of these lessons and several others have unfolded in front of me this week. As I watch them, internalize them, and learn from them I’m reminded of an even more important and bigger picture lesson… attain distance and look at my life as if I was a third party. What advice would I give myself? When seeing the challenges of others I must remember to not be smug and grateful for not having the issue, rather I must remind myself I’ve made the same mistake and now have a wildly value opportunity… what can I learn from this?
One of the benefits of being fully vaccinated has been the increased comfort in meeting in real life instead of just virtually. Today has included many instances of had previously been known as “normal” interactions. Sure, they weren’t perfectly normal and involved masks and thermometers, but they all really started to feel like normal again.
There was an early morning donut run for a client courtesy of a teammate of mine. We got to meet the new addition to the family of another teammate. Another client meeting later in the morning felt so much more genuine thanks to being in person. Heading out drinks with some friends of ours was the first time Becky and I had done that since the pandemic really got rolling. So many laughs, smiles, and interaction.
As an introvert there are some benefits to the increased solitude from social distancing. That said, I am grateful for an increased level of interpersonal interaction, just as I’m sure an extrovert is thankful for the occasional moments of quiet.
The best part? I had quiet time with Becky on our run. I had time with Becky while we focused on packing and re-packing our backpacks. I had time chilling with Becky while we were out with friends. I had time making new memories and joking with her (for reals, is this not the smallest drumstick ever???).
I grateful for the time with her. We’ve been running seemingly constantly for a while and having time to the two of us felt great today.
A day of interaction, something even an introvert like me can be thankful for once in a while 😉
Steve and I knocked out one of our last early morning training hikes before our upcoming trip. While we were trading notes about gear, packing, and so on we kicked up a couple of deer. After a while we got on the topic of what type of training plan we should have for next week. My gut instinct was to hit it even harder and hike more miles on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with more weight to make sure I was as prepared as possible.. even though we would be hiking for reals on the very next day.
I’m grateful for lessons I learned from training for my first marathon, especially how to train during the last week or two. When training for a long distance run there’s always the same desire to run hard right up until the day of the event to make sure I’ve maximized my training time. This thought is total garbage and completely wrong. By running strong until the race my body would be beaten up and exhausted. If I take the last week to relax my legs have the opportunity to relax, refresh, and recharge. This lesson is a perfect example of how sometimes I must remember to go slow to go fast.
For my first marathon there was a two week cool down. The penultimate week saw me drop my miles by almost 50% and the final week about half of that. What’s funny is that even though I should have relished the thought of taking a break I couldn’t help but feel like I was losing fitness. I felt like I was trapped and climbing the walls. It felt so wildly wrong that I confirmed the strategy with more than a handful of other resources to confirm it was correct. But it worked. It worked so well that I successfully completed the full 26.2 miles.
After remembering how great it felt to finish my marathons even though it felt awkward I knew I needed to heed the lessons learned to help with hiking. Next week will be a much reduced mileage and weight week in order to help me be as ready as possible for the end of next week. All the hard work is already done. I started early and got myself into the shape I wanted to get into. Now it is time to rest and trust the process.
While prepping for my blog I knew I wanted to find a race pic to attach. When I attempted to find the one I wanted I instead stumbled into some hysterical pics of a random-fish weekend night downtown with friends. I was literally chuckling to myself while I paused to cruise through all of them and re-live those memories. How cool that I stumbled into another benefit of blogging tonight.
My drive to Menomonie started fairly early. A quick shower after our run, get dressed, and out the door I went. Thanks to the sun rising earlier and earlier each morning I had an awesome view of the sunrise over the Mississippi River Valley for the first hour of my ride. I know, I write of the drive often, but today here was an extra healthy dose of wildlife to complement the scenic views. There were well over a dozen bald eagles, some overhead, some in trees, and one all alone in a field. Ducks and waterfowl were scattered throughout the wetlands. What really took the cake was the view of a beaver swimming across a fairly large backwater pond what a treat!
One of my habits while driving early in the morning is listening to my audiobooks. The one this morning was Effortless by Greg McKeown. My mind was almost 100% focused but I’d catch myself drifting off in thought a little. As luck would have it that was right about the time he talked about ways to stay focused. Perfect timing! One of the points brought up was remembering that we must pause to re-charge sometimes.
I took note of that idea and paused the book. Within seconds I had some music playing instead and I opened the moon roof. I sang, I relaxed, and I enjoyed the ride. After a short period of relaxation I turned on some very chill music without words and proceeded to put tremendous thought into a few challenges I was working on today. My brain felt refreshed and I was able to process my thoughts more clearly.
On my ride home I balanced out some deep thinking, some chilling, some podcasts to let my brain wander in other directions, and some calls. The balance was a great way to get my head back in the right place for the week.
Tomorrow is another crazy one as is Friday, but I’m glad I’m taking time to re-charge throughout. I’ve already been able to see a few things more clearly thanks to that quiet time. Throw in some beautiful sights on the drive and life is good!
Sometimes I get a little bit of a one track mind. Of course I’m also focused in on the other important aspects of life, but I can get a bit fixated on something when I have moments of quiet. You know, the little spots when my mind is free to wander and isn’t focused on a specific task. As you can probably guess this focus has been on backpacking and hiking recently.
When left to my own devices I tend to plan for every crazy possible scenario. This leads to packing twice as much as I’ll need. You know the feeling? Pack for a week long vacation, go on vacation, get home, unpack, and realize that only half your clothes were worn. I prepped for everything and then had more than enough, but at the cost of extra weight, extra baggage, and a somewhat messy and unfocused mind.
When we first went to Hawaii I made it my mission to pack an entire week’s worth of clothes and stuff into a single backpack. Thanks to the little bit of extra room in Becky’s suitcase I was able to make it work 😉 In all seriousness, I ended up packing almost the bare minimum needed for a pleasant vacation. There was very little left unused during the trip.
To make this happen I started packing well before the trip. I stated with what I thought I would need and had it separated out. Over the course of a little over a week I’d slowly start eliminating the extra and unessential. My mind would continue to work through the possibilities and realize that there were ways to go without, or, better yet, find ways to multipurpose one item for two things. By the time I left I had everything honed down and was left with almost only the essential.
Since then I remember the sensation of a very focused trip. I’d thought through the trip in advance and prepped for what could happen. I then adjusted for what would most likely happen. I felt very focused on knowing I was both 100% prepared and not carrying extra just for the sake of carrying extra just in case.
As we prep for our backpacking trip it’s been a very similar process. I started with a big list of what I needed. Then I added to it and added to it. Now I’ve started to cull the herd. What do I really need? Do I really need three different ferro rods, four different knives and two compasses for a three day / two night backpacking trip of 20 miles or so on a heavily traveled trail in a park in which we’re never more than 8 miles away from our car? Nope! But the process of over preparing has been beneficial as it forces me to think through all the possibilities. Then once I start to narrow it down to the probabilities I’m able to shrink down the pile of gear. Eventually I get down to the essential which allows me to enjoy the confidence of knowing I have everything I need while also leaving me carrying only what is needed.
So while we’re still just under a couple of weeks away I’m thankful for pre-packing and eliminating the non-essential. My mind is already feeing better knowing I’ve considered almost all possible scenarios and I’ve got everything I would need to stay safe while also carrying as little as possible to allow me to more perfectly enjoy the serenity of the woods.
On our run this morning I remembered a handful of life lessons from one little event. Just as the sun was rising I was reminded of a handful of life lessons from one simple event.
Be prepared
Ingenuity can solve any problem
Humility
Laughter is better when shared
Pay attention to your surroundings before passing the point of no return
Always wear socks when running
When life happens a question is posed to me. “How will I choose to respond?” This morning I chose another question as the answer and it made all the difference. “What can I learn from this?”
Over a drink sometime you might be able to coax the story out of me. In the meantime let me leave this story with a picture that’s worth a thousand words:
While the morning started with an early run the evening is ending with an epic yoga workout. Blog, shower, bed. That’s the plan for the rest of the night. A day bookended with exercise is one in which the eyes close quickly and sleep is almost as quick.
Another full day in the books to wrap up a wonderful weekend. A while back Becky suggested that I stay home while she takes Gavin to his soccer tournament as it would be one of the last weekends I have at home for a while. After some thought I agreed that it would be nice to stay home and enjoy some downtime before jumping back into our normal crazy string of weekends. Rather than chill it has been a weekend of almost constant motion – all in good ways. Sitting on the couch and taking a deep breath while I blog is exactly what I need before I crash in bed.
A couple of specific things really hit me today. For as much fun as I’ve had with Dominic this weekend I’m just as thankful for the wonderful time Becky had with Gavin this weekend. We often talk about making sure we get some one on one time with each of the boys to keep building, deepening, and strengthening the bond between each of us. Hearing about how much fun the two of them had this weekend has me smiling big. I feel so blessed to have a family who enjoys spending so much time together in any combination.
The picture Becky texted me after the game has my mind reeling a bit. Is this the first picture of the two of them in which Gavin is clearly taller than Becky? Crazy thinking that our youngest is no longer our shortest!
One other thing I’d be remiss to point out today is my gratitude for the beauty of spring flowers. This little flower really caught my attention on our hike. There were thousands of them just off the trail. Each one caused me to smile at the wonder that they each are. So delicate, beautiful, and simple. How fortunate we are to live in a world with beauty such as this!
What a full day it has been! Sitting on the couch and unwinding my face keeps smiling as I think about where to start my blog tonight. Pretty much all day Dominic and I have been hanging out and I’ve been enjoying every moment of it. Becky is with Gavin in South Dakota for a soccer tournament so it’s just Dominic and I for the weekend.
After Dominic’s soccer practice we came home and made lunch. Then we packed up and went for an awesome long hike in Hixon with our packs on. We may have happened to choose a route home that went right past and ice cream shop and we may have picked up a couple of malts. 😉 Next up was home, showers, and off to church. Grab supper on the way home, take the dogs for a walk, and then eat some Jimmy John’s while watching TV. Play a game or two, and then chill on the couch while watching a movie.
All day long, just the two of us shooting the bull. Talking life stuff, joking around, and just hanging out. Talk about awesome! Having time to the two of us has been a sweet opportunity that we don’t often get. I’m thankful for every moment of it.
Dominic and I spent some time wandering through Woodman’s this evening. With the clock ticking towards our backpacking trips we wanted to get a jump on preparation. One of the most important factors of a successful trip is making sure we’ve got the right food to keep us going for a handful of days. We were able to figure out what seem to be some pretty tasty ways to hit our 3,000+ calories per day.
Tonight I’m thankful for all of my years of Scouting and outdoors experience. One of the most tried and true – and consistent – training mantras is to be prepared. We never know exactly what we will encounter on any given day or trip, but we can be prepared for almost any possibility. By taking time to think ahead, plan, and prepare, we set ourselves up for success in even some of the most difficult situations.
One of the other benefits of preparing early is being able to test things out, experiment, and then prepare even better. Tonight Dominic and I took the time to think through our food choices, test some hunches, and take a test run of our nutritional plan. Our odds of a successful (and enjoyable) trip have increased significantly thanks to our preparation tonight… all 36 ounces of it 😉
