"A child whose birthday is coming up is so excited, they count down the days. But as we get older we seem to lose the excitement. We need to rethink and be happy we have reached another birthday."
— Theodore W. Higginsworth
In the summer of 1982 (July 23 to be exact) I remember the awesome birthday celebration that started my summer tradition of amusement parks and sparklers. I love that I have a summer birthday. I always felt like the July 4th fireworks were like the kick-off to a major 3 week party that was just for me. As I got older I didn't always celebrate quite as big as I had when I was in elementary school but summer birthdays were perfect for me. I could do pretty much anything to celebrate myself.
Somewhere along the way I quit wanting people to know it was my birthday. I don't think I was afraid of getting older because obviously that beats the alternative. I just didn't want any attention. I didn't know how to respond when I was in the spotlight.
This year I turned 45. I didn't go out for a special meal with my family or even have cake or ice cream. I ran 4.5 miles with my favorite running buddy and watched the opening of the Olympics. I wish I hadn't ever lost the excitement for my birthday. I hope I can change that in the years to come.
Now let's talk Olympics!!! I love to read biographies about the Olympians. One of my favorite books of all time is In The Water They Can't See You Cry. While I don't swim, I loved this memoir of Amanda Beard who competed in the 1996 Olympics at age 14. Even as I was growing up I remember idolizing athletes like Nadia Comaneci (gymnastics) and Flo Jo (running) and more recently Deena Kastor for her distance running skill. When I started running after Kate and Will were born, I loved learning about Kara Goucher and Sara Hall. One thing that I really loved about Kara Goucher was that she had been from Minnesota. I felt like her midwestern connection made her somehow more like me....
When it was announced that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics would begin on July 23, I felt like it was the perfect birthday honor. Kate and I would get to watch the US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) together early that morning but my excitement for the Olympics was short lived. I did not have the attention span for watching that I had previously. Some mornings I check the medal count and some mornings I don't. In the evenings when others are watching the events, I am choosing to read or scroll social media. I've decided to change the focus of the Olympics so that I do get more out of them than I have been.
I'm going to be paying close attention to the athletes in a different way because I want to be able to model the things they do that make them great. I know that I won't be going to the Olympics but I can still chase some dreams! If I want to be my own best, I need to pay attention to what the best do.
This leads me to the final piece of what I want to write about: BALANCE. It is really easy for me to be obsessed with things. When I have an interest, I think about it so much that I often have to devote time each day to doing other things so that things are in balance.
The gymnasts show us balance in amazing ways but the balance I am thinking about has to do with the mind more than anything else. I think one of the most important balance lessons is the idea of knowing ourselves deeply enough to name our feelings and understanding the feelings of others. I want to write more about this idea of balance but in an effort to quit rambling tonight, I will continue it another time.
Let's wrap up the fitness for July:
I met my step goal for 28/31 days in July!!! That's 90%. I'm super proud of that. I currently have a 21 day streak going. I don't know how much longer I can keep it up, but I'm going to shoot for 30 days....
I have 3 weeks until my half marathon in Dubuque. I did 10 miles this morning and will do another long run of 13 miles on Saturday. I'm excited to see what my August
Made to Move race will be.
