Thanks be for The Cinco

I'm blessed beyond belief to have such wonderful friends.

When I first moved to the city where I now live to be closer to where I teach, it was kind of a lonely experience. Sure, my family is only about 30-40 minutes away, but there were times when even that felt too far. I just felt so disconnected from society, even though I was surrounded by people every single day. Even some of the teachers who work with me became my friends, but many of them have extremely busy lives outside of school, and it's also hard to escape the school bubble completely when you hang out with other teachers. Somehow the conversation always ends up back to something in the world of education.

Monotony became a common theme.

I had coached at a local running store in my hometown, so I decided to coach for the branch of the store in my new city. This is where my friendships with Speedub and Kebbers (I love nicknames!) began. They were already pretty close friends, and I really didn't see them except for on coaching nights twice a week, but I thought they were pretty cool.

Then, I signed up to do a 5K race one weekend, and they talked about racing it, too, but I didn't really talk with them about meeting up there or anything. When I first pulled into the parking lot, I was kind of hoping to see at least one of them, so I was incredibly thankful when I spotted Kebbers first thing when I got out of my car. Speedub came shortly, and I just tagged along with them for morning. I wasn't too concerned if they wanted me to or not.

At the start line, they introduced me to LizRaz (though that was not her nickname yet) and informed me that she was really fast and would win the race. This turned out to be true. I came in second and could barely even see her for most of the race. They all ran for the store's team, and they encouraged me to join. I decided that was a good idea, especially after all the fun I had hanging out with them after the race. It was pretty cold outside, but we waited for the awards ceremony, and Speedub took multiple pictures. I left the race thanking God for a wonderful morning and hoping that I would become better friends with these ladies.

It's amazing how God times things so perfectly and can put people in your life at just the right time.

Since that race, our friendship has grown, and it's so nice to know I have a group of women who I know will always be there for me to encourage me and help me when my spirits are down. LizRaz also introduced us to Taz, who doesn't live in the DFW area, but we hope she comes back to visit real soon. After all, the five of us form The Cinco.

And they are such inspirations! LizRaz and Kebbers have become triathletes, and Speedub never lets any of us down in showing up for races and cheering/taking pictures if she is not 

running. She drove me all the way to my 15K race last weekend, cheered, took pics and made sure I stayed hydrated after the race. On the way, she even accommodated my music selection and the temperature of the car. It was so selfless!

I had a bad race this morning, and after I told them about it, they all offered encouraging words full of wisdom and understanding. These gals are hilarious, fun, so full of energy and so full of kindness.

God bless The Cinco.

I'm more of a city girl

I am very thankful I wasn't raised in a small town.

I attended a workshop this week at a small college in a small town, and I was suddenly overly grateful for my suburban roots. I don't mean this to sound snobbish by any means, but I just can't see myself enjoying life in a place like this.

Everybody knows everybody, and everybody knows everybody's business.

And I don't do so well with things that are completely run down and rustic. Coming from a suburb of Dallas, I'm used to certain things and a specific way of life, and it's weird to be amidst all these people who have never experienced that lifestyle. Things are so different. Sure, it's nice to have that laid-back way of doing things every now and then, but I suppose I've become too comfortable with a fast-paced, go-get-'em style.

Compared to many other cities in this world, my hometown is relatively small, but not like this. Yes, I appreciate the lyrics of John Mellencamp, but I don't plan to live and die in a small town. I can barely breathe.

I know my opinion might be different if I had grown up in a small town and experienced that lifestyle, but I doubt I would be the same person I am today. I can see how it would be easy to get into trouble as a teenager, as there really isn't too much else to do here. Plenty of great, wholesome people are products of small towns, but that desire of wanting to escape and go to bigger and better things and beat the monotony can make people do things they might not in other situations. Some of them get out of the small town life. Some of them stay forever. In talking to some of the locals, this can be both enjoyable and miserable.

No, I don't have anything against small towns or the people who live in them or are from them. I think my main point is simply that I'm glad I didn't grow up in a small town, and I'm very thankful for where I am now.

And I'm most thankful that I get to go home today!

Miss Independent

I love America, even if it is a gluttonous place.

Joey Chestnut set a world record today with his 68 hot dogs in the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, defeating eating phenom Takeru Kobayashi for the third straight year. I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious: that's a heck of a lot of hot dogs!

This event is by far one of the most disgusting things to view, but I make it a yearly tradition to watch it on my beloved ESPN. The commentators throw in some witty remarks, and the whole thing becomes a fun, fairly comical event. However, it's also downright serious. These eaters mean business. The top two female competitors, Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas and Juliet Lee were even compared to the likes of Venus vs. Serena, Clinton and Palin and other famous female rivals. Ridiculous. Awesome.

I love the Fourth of July. It really is such a great holiday, and I'm glad that so many people get together with their families and just have some quality fun. Even if we are becoming a fat nation, at least we still have our freedom to be fat.

Also, big shout out to the troops fighting for this great country. Especially Dane. Come home soon!

Happy birthday, America!

Living like a bum

As the title might imply, I have been feeling rather useless lately.

I have discovered that the summer life of a teacher can be a whole lot of, well, nothing. Sure, I am working part-time at RunOn!, but that only keeps me occupied a couple days a week. And, to be quite honest, I have enjoyed not having much to do lately.

The school year held stress and fatigue, so it's more than refreshing to be able to catch my breath this summer. I've spent more than just a few afternoons at the pool reading, and I've gotten to run farther and faster. And I've been running more races recently, which I love!

I have also discovered that I am a better napper than I ever thought possible. It's as if all the sleep I did not get throughout the school year accumulated and finally hit me like a ton of bricks. I'll tell you, a nap sure is a thing of beauty!

Lest I should sound like a complete waste of space, I have also still been coaching at RunOn!, and I've been giving a few private swim lessons a couple times a week. I also did some cleaning the other day, which was more than needed. Let's just say that it had been a long while.

Man, summertime as a teacher sure does rock.