Marathon Lessons

Back in 8th grade, I wanted a letter to prove I'd made an "A" team more than anything. So desperate was I to achieve this, I even tried out for the one sport my common sense had always told me...you can't do. That's right, Track. But I'm not fast. I'm not tall. I don't jump. So what could a b-team bench warmer do on a track team?

Cross Country.

Now I did make the team and run a 1320 (3/4 of a mile), and I even got a ribbon. I was fifth. The fact that there were five people running doesn't really matter. Before the race, there were more but several quit. On the third lap in, everyone else that had not dropped out had finished. That track felt lonely and quiet and tedious.

I was hot.
I was unhappy.
I lay down.
Deliberately.
I thought about just staying there. (At 13, melodrama is a way of life).

Then, I got up and started moving again and the why fell way as I just kept going.
It wasn't that I signed up that got me a letter from the "A" team. It was that I didn't let myself quit.

So I apologize to all of you that read my "Full Plate" essay. Every word of it was true. (I felt overwhelmed and exhausted and frustrated and all those self absorbed things one feels at 43 that supposedly aren't melodrama because they aren't adolescent). What I needed, was to stop and reassert priorities. But when you feel all those things, it's hard to think, let alone assess.

Three weeks of observing the world dripping with stories that I wasn't writing drove me crazy. Some of those mental photos and turns of phrase would be lost forever. I don't know if such things are agony for anyone else but they haunt me.

So I promise not to flounce.
I promise not to lie down on the track anymore.
I'll finish the race even if I'm stuck running around this track after everyone else has lapped me twice.

What does that mean?

It means I'll be pouring out words for as long as I have access to a computer, but only after I've read to my kids, made sure they've done their homework, bathed, and I've given a bit of time to my husband, the needs of the house and my extended family and friends. I promise to be present in words and deeds.

I'll get fifth for finishing last, and I'll be just as proud of that ribbon as I am of the yellow one that hangs in my office from 1980.

Thanks for coming back.

The Write Way to Disarm Bears

This week we saw a black bear in the wild while driving through Shenandoah National Park. It was a moment of wonder and something my husband had hoped to experience his whole life. For five minutes, we all stared at a beast from the safety of our car before it lumbered into the foliage. It was amazing how silently such a large creature could move and more stunning how quickly it could vanish from view.

The state I live in decided that up to 500 bears may be killed to curb overpopulation and prevent excessive encounters between bears and humans. This license to kill bruins only exists within Maryland, so the park where we saw our Smokey won't be affected. Given the amount of readily available food, including possibly awestruck tourists that stop to snap pictures on Skyline Drive, I'm betting that bear won't get too much wanderlust. If he's smart, he'll stay put such that anyone who takes a shot at him is committing a federal offense.

For the remaining wandering bears out there in Maryland, they still don't have too much to worry about if it's me. While any of the 350 million Americans could exercise their rights and try to bag one of these stray bears in the Free State, most of us should refrain. Shooting anything outside of a video game is much harder in real life. I remember shooting clay pigeons at a range with my Dad. It was the first and only time I've ever held/shot a gun. (I was 17). Given my score, I wouldn't trust me with a red rider or a water gun, much less an actual thing that could hurt someone.

For me, the pen shall always be mightier than the sword or whatever form of weaponry that requires hand/eye coordination one chooses. If it comes to self defense, I would probably be best served by a blunt instrument like a bat, but I wouldn't want to go toe to toe with a creature that has claws, teeth and at least 250 pounds on me if all I'm packing is a Louisville slugger.

Then again, remembering how I fare at the plate, perhaps I'll just eviscerate the bear in fiction. I'll write about the beast and it will wind up on the internet. Then, the piece will go viral. He'll be embarrassed permanently and thus unable to score with the lady bears in his vicinity. As a result, the bear population will be reduced without the need for unnecessary violence.

That'll learn him.

Now, I can concentrate on fixing the overpopulation of deer.

50 Things to Save the World...and let me blog again.

50 ways to Save the World Today.

This piece was inspired by a fellow writer who created a thread asking how we could save the world and if the world needed saving.

It was not a religious forum but it asked a big question, what can we do to make the world better.

My personal belief is that the world cannot be saved except one person, one moment at a time. What we hope to save the world from, is despair, hopelessness, pain, rage, wrath, waste, sloth, isolation, neglect, carelessness and indifference.

What we hope is to create a world filled with people who act with charitable intent, careful forethought and great kindness, energy and generosity. What we hope is to reflect Christ to others through our actions, thoughts and words.

How do we do this? One moment, one person, one act of will at a time.

50) Exercise today. Don't look at the scale tomorrow.
49) Learn to play an instrument even if it's Wii Drums.
48) Volunteer with a charity of your choice.
47) Keep informed on the news.
46) Smile at someone.
45) Exercise the benefit of doubt towards someone else
44) Read to a kid.
43) Go outside.
42) Play.
41) Meet your neighbors.
40) Write a letter.
39) Remember birthdays.
38) Thank the custodian at your workplace, or the person in the fastfood restaurant.
37) Pick up one piece of litter on the side of the road.
36) Turn off the computer, the radio, the televison, blackberry, cellphone and talk.
35) Fix a dinner that takes time.
34) Write your Senator/representative
33) Schedule a dental appointment and a physical check up. Go.
32) Give away something to charity.
31) Write something beautiful.
30) Call your Mom, or remember her. Same with Dad.
29) Forgive someone in your heart, if you can't in person. Mean it.
28) Put fresh flowers on the table.
27) Pray often for others.
26) Root for the home team.
25) Dance with your children
24) Fix something in your house you've been meaning to get to.
23) Open a savings account.
22) Invite a family or friend over to dinner.
21) Plan a reunion.
20) Thank a teacher that made a difference to you.
19) Read a book you've never read but should have.
18) Plant a garden or weed one.
17) Schedule a date night, plan it.
16) Rescue a dog or cat.
15) Go to bed early.
14) Swallow a criticism
13) Go for a walk.
12) Ask someone else how you can help.
11) Be unafraid to speak your mind.
10) Learn your family tree and history.
9) When no one else is willing to volunteer, stand up.
8) Give someone talking your full attention rather than formulating your own clever response or multi-tasking.
7) Keep the promises you make.
6) Visit the sick.
5) Feed the hungry.
4) Banish smugness from your own mind and heart.
3) Appreciate beauty in all its forms.
2) Become one of those people others want to be like and be near, that makes people laugh, that gets things done, that listens well and cares.

1) Don't quit.

As a Catholic, I would add stay close to the sacraments and read the scripture daily. So I fired this off and now I want to restart the blog, because I want to still contribute and it's a good filter and story keeper for my family. But I have to limit myself and I admit, I'm not good at that. I'll keep it to the three times only and hope you'll bear with me.

Now I have to turn off the computer and start doing.