Inspiration

I don't think I would even be trying this if I hadn't seen someone do (something like) it first. I'm blessed to be surrounded by some pretty inspiring people--people that have taken the steps to do their Thing and stuck with it. My friend, R, is a Runner with a capital R. She is the kind of Runner that says things like, "15 miles today--looking forward to it!" and is not being the least bit cheeky about it. Another friend, J, does freakin' Roller Derby and now her daughter does it as well and I think that is just beautiful. My BFF, M, and her husband have been doing Crossfit for just over a year. I swear she goes nearly every day and the fact that they both do it is totally admirable because they have 3 busy boys, she owns a business and somehow they are able to juggle their schedules so they can both get their butts to the gym.

But mostly, my inspiration is G. We grew up swimming on the same summer-league team and he was a (really good) swimmer in high school and college. About a year ago he got back in the pool and started training for a 5K SWIM. Yes, SWIM. 3.2 miles in a LAKE. Two weeks ago, he did it for the second time and I can go around saying, "My husband is a swimmer." and it is pretty awesome. Here they are, all my loves, in Lake Washington the day before the 5K. The kids are playing and G is heading out to get in some yards before the big day. Do you see Miss Sassy Pants giving S a shove? She spends much of her time in the water being completely offended that we think she can't swim (she can't, she's a baby for crying out loud) and trying to get to deeper water. She was right at a drop-off and that rude brother of hers thought she maybe shouldn't be allowed to drown.

Not to lessen anyone's accomplishments, but I do think, "If they can do it, so can I." R, J, M, G and others around me are regular people, with regular lives and none have unlimited time, money or resources to help them do what they love and get their butts in gear. Some even have their own set of challenges or history that make what they're doing quite hard. I admire them so much, I hope I can be like them.