Great Outdoors

The past two weekends I’ve been lucky enough to hit the trails around here, and I’m so grateful. Don’t know why I haven’t made the time to do so more often. Nothing better than getting outside to clear the mind and strengthen the soul. What an amazing world we live in. Photographs can’t ever really capture the beauty fully, but here are some attempts.

Nesmith Point trail looking down at the Columbia River

Morning at Bench Lake near Mt. Adams

More Bench Lake (This view was just a few yards from our campsite, beautiful)

Anyone know what kind of flower this is?

Little Mt Adams

Hope you've enjoyed these, and that you are able to have your own outdoor adventures this summer.

The Friend that Built Me

Today marks 12 years since my friend Andrea died. How can I begin to describe her and what she means to me? I can’t. So here are some snapshots of my favorite memories of our time together.

Practicing gymnastics on the front lawn. Or using the back of her Grandma's couch as a balance beam, her Grandma would get so scared when we were doing flips up there!

Andrea had such a great memory. In high-school she could still remember the name of everyone in our kindergarten class and what they were wearing in our class photo. I have a terrible memory, and she really was my memory holder for much of childhood. If only we could chat again and remember together.

Andrea would sit in Geometry class with her leg behind her neck. Crazy girl.

Meeting my friend on the first day of Kindergarten. It's so fun how just sharing a toy can turn into a long friendship at that age.

Making up songs and dances to showcase for our parents. I still remember some of them and want to start singing or dancing them. But it wouldn't make much sense to anyone but Andrea.

Watching movies over and over again, reciting the lines along with the actors. (I plan to do this in the AM with a couple of our favorites, good times).

Fighting over a plastic bag. Yep, that’s right, a plastic bag. We laughed about this one for years. As far as I remember this was one of only two fights we ever had.

Playing with our dolls. When we were in high-school. It was so great to have a friend who wasn't too cool to still do fun things.

I could go on, but better stop here. Thanks for reading. Somehow telling other people about Andrea helps. Keeping her memory alive and all that (cheesy, but true).

Miss you my friend.

(Miranda Lambert "The House that Built Me")

Finish with a smile

Ok, so I’m still coming down from my post-triathlon high and am all emotional and introspective. My apologies in advance for what follows.

I was just thinking about what a difference expectations make. Somewhere early in my triathlon training I came across a book (“Triathlon 101” by John Mora) that had some great tips for your first race. While I found much of the information helpful, the best advice was as follows: “A great goal for your first triathlon is to finish with a smile.”

I instantly liked that advice. Sounds like a much more achievable goal than “I want to finish in ______ minues,” or “in _____ place in my division.” Much less pressure. Also sounds more fun than striving to just Finish (it would be pretty easy to finish and be frustrated and angry and still have a terrible experience).

I set forth in training with this goal foremost in my mind. Finish with a smile. Finish. With a smile.

Somewhere along the line I started to think that this is a good goal for many things in life. I began to realize that often the reason I’m disappointed or angry is because my expectations haven’t been met. Where did those expectations come from though? What if I changed my expectations and goals? Could that change my reaction even if the results were the same? I found out the answer is yes. On occasion I was able to start work with the goal of going through the day with a smile. It’s actually pretty amazing how reminding myself of that goal throughout the day can make a difference. It helped me let-go of unnecessary and unrealistic expectations. Helped me slow down and enjoy the humor of the day instead of getting caught up in frustrations.

I found out that usually I have the daily goal that everything go smoothly and perfectly. Didn’t realize that was my goal, but it was. No wonder I’m so grumpy and pessimistic all the time! Stopping, and breathing, and remembering that the little hic-ups throughout the day don’t really matter is really freeing. So far success is sporatic, but maybe someday I will build the habit of creating more realistic goals each day.

The advice helped me out on race day too. I was able to stop and breathe and remember that it was ok when I didn’t have time to warm-up. To laugh when I fell down. To smile and thank many of the volunteers along the course. To enjoy the whole process. And guess what?! My time was actually better than I was hoping! I probably did better because of my main goal. Finish with a smile.