July Plans

 July is always a big month.  This year it's as big as always.  It starts out with all of the Independence Day Celebrations (which actually start with the Lancaster Jaycees Fireworks on the last Friday of June).

This year July marks my only vacation time.  I am on vacation through Sunday, July 25.  I thought 3 weeks would feel great but then I started putting things on the calendar and realized that there were really only 6 days that I didn't have something planned.   As I was working on filling in our family calendar, I decided to make a running calendar, too.  As part of the Made to Move Summer Challenge I will be running a half marathon in August so I need to follow some kind of a training plan so that I'm ready.

Running Calendar

Family Calendar

I completed 3 really successful weeks of summer school with some amazing kids in June.  One of the things we did during our last week together (20 minutes per day) was watch Luca.  Have you seen it?  It seemed like the perfect movie preparation for summer!!  Summer boredom causes the main character, Luca, to go to the surface of the water and explore farther than he should.  

Let's talk about boredom first, shall we?  I wish I could think of a time when I felt bored since 1994.  Seriously.  It just isn't something I ever struggle with.  I think it helps that I always have books I can read and household chores that can be done.  Even when I could be doing those things, I often do other time wasters instead.  Oh how I wish I knew what boredom felt like. 

Luca and Alberto grow a friendship and make plans with an Italian girl named, Guilia.  The threesome is determined to win a triathlon so that they can buy a scooter.  I love the events in their triathlon:  swimming, eating pasta, and bike riding.  While the movie is definitely made for kids, I am so glad that I got to watch it.  I took away so much for myself.  BE BRAVE, BE BOLD, BE YOU!  Luca, Alberto, and Guilia grow through their experiences in the movie and Luca finds the courage to be himself even if it means giving up certain hopes and dreams.  I'm coming away from watching this movie with the confidence to chase some bold goals---please know that none of my goals include swimming. 😜

I've also been reading some great books and I hope to finish 4 more books during July.  Two of the books I'm reading are Mere Christianity by CS Lewis and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  If you have some great book recommendations, please do share them with me. 

Wrapping Up June

While I didn't get as much running in during June as I had originally hoped, I did enjoy lots of time with my family.  My Garmin goals only hit 21/30 days.  I can do better in July.

My Made to Move 10K was pretty rough and so I am glad that my pace for our July 4th race was nearly a minute per mile faster.  

My 5th annual ICE CREAM STREAK was successful with 30 days of ice cream.  Culver's was probably the most popular ice cream I consumed followed by Phish Food from Ben and Jerry's.  3rd Place goes to Happy Joe's Feature Flavor and the close 4th place of Vesperman Farms.  I haven't had any ice cream in July but I'm sure that I will have some while I am visiting Virginia this week.

My final wrap up on June are 2 connections to my "professional life."  I finished Unit 2 of my LETRS training and have a pretty great score.  I also renewed my Illinois teaching license just to keep my options open.

Planning ahead and working toward goals is something I hope will help me.

Big goals require dedication and commitment not just interest....  Here's to chasing BIG Goals in July and August.

Friday Five

 Hello and Happy FRIYAY!   This week marks the mid point of 2021.

Here's a #fun #fridayfive of #summer  for my 900th Instagram post:

1.  Summer is my favorite season.  One of my favorite things during the summer months is fireworks!

2. While I am not an outdoorsy person I do love time outside.  This week I spent time outdoors walking, running, reading, and just relaxing.  Hopefully I will get some biking time outside next week.

3. As much as I love summer and outdoors, I don't like swimming.   I hated swimming lessons as a kid.  My younger sister was in a higher swim level than I was by the time I was in 3rd grade.  I admire anyone who swims/lifeguards because I couldn't ever do it.

4. My favorite TV show right now is Rebel with Katey Sagal and Andy Garcia.  I'm a little behind on episodes.  Maybe I love the show for its storyline or maybe I love the show because of Andy Garcia.   Have you seen it?

5. I'm currently reading Radium Girls and it is absolutely intriguing to me. Even though it's about the early 1900s, it's really making me think differently about things today.  If you've read it (or seen the movie), I'd love to know what you thought. 

#headupheartout #fridayfive #ffcrew #zoomarunclub #fellowflowers #stillirun 

Be a Winner....

 For about a month I have been really thinking, deliberately reflecting, about what it means to win.  I know that seems like a really silly thing to be pondering and putting so much into but I while watching different spring sporting events that my kids have been in and working on my own fitness, I struggled with what it really means to win.  

When I would run half marathons when I first started running in 2011, I remember my own kids and even my students asking me after the races if I had won.  I would always giggle and explain that no I hadn't won but sometimes finishing is an accomplishment.  There were a couple of times that I did "win."  For example at the 2015 Riverview Run 10K, I was the first place woman runner.  It was a small race and I was running really great paces with every mile in the 8s.  My whole thinking around this idea of winning has been brewing since I would watch Will's track meets and Kate's soccer games this spring. 

What does it mean to win?  

There are days lately where I feel like "winning" is simply making it through the day and getting all the things I need to completed.  As I was preparing to run the Fellow Flowers Made to Move 10K in Madison on June 12, I knew I was not going to win or be in the top 3 for my age group.  A few years ago that would have crushed me.  A few years ago I was in a different place.  Winning on June 12 was simply getting my rear to the event, toeing the start line, and completing all 6.2 miles with a smile.  That was a HUGE WIN for me and I am proud of that.  

Over the last year plus, I have come to realize that winning comes from your MINDSET.  

My dear, amazing daughter has really helped me see that.  Her attitude is amazing. She focuses on the positive in every situation.  When I, too often, hold onto the suck and the negativity, she finds the positive.  She is optimistic about everything and I am so proud of her for helping me to really learn from hard lessons and use them to put effort into the positive.  

While watching my son compete in track, I felt his frustration at times.  The events he was in were all individual and he would often feel defeated with his performance.  Winning in track is definitely different from team sports and that was a good thing and a bad thing for my competitive son who did NOT think it was good enough to come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.... or so on.  

As I would watch both of my kids compete this spring I thought a lot about what it meant to win and then I wondered why winning was so important.  

I was not an athletic kid.  My competitions were in academics.  I could win spelling bees and academic bowl meets.  I could have the highest GPA possible and take all the college prep classes.  I could give the Valedictory Address at graduation but I had no idea how to be a winner. Winning seemed tied to the athletics and not so much my academics until my recent concentration on winning and what it means to win.

I have come to the decision that sometimes winning means simply letting go.  

As I have been running some of my miles I have been trying to absorb my feelings into my heart and transfer those into my legs with each step and then let it go.  Winning is learning how to feel the frustration and manage the joy of success, too.

It's time for me to make some plans to improve and get back to being a winner.  This #medalmonday from Made to Move is my first step toward being a winner again.

Story --- The Power of It

(5 days until race day!!!  Made to Move )

I often think about stories from the perspective of a reading teacher.  That's a really great way to get to think about stories.  I can think about Patricia Polacco and Kevin Henkes and the stories of Jacqueline Woodson and Peter Reynolds. I use stories every day to teach skills and help connect us in our classroom community but more recently I have been thinking about my own story.  I still don't know that I could tell my own story.

This summer I have decided to really begin the work of figuring out my story because I truly love knowing others' stories.

On Saturday morning, I was at Kate's soccer game in Sauk Prairie.  The facility was beautiful.  The weather was beautiful.  At halftime Roger and I walked back to the car so I could get something to drink.  We were walking back into the stadium when a gentleman who had been standing at the fence turned.

"Who do your girls play in the postseason?' he asked.

We began a conversation simply about the soccer season and playoffs but it quickly turned to more.

"Who are you watching?" I asked him.

"My granddaughter is number 22. She's a freshman."

Somehow the story continued and I learned his name and that he had once been the principal and superintendent in Sauk Prairie.  What was even more interesting to me was that he had filled in as superintendent at Benton Schools (which is super close to the Illinois border and coops with some sports with Scales Mound).  He talked about his sons and their families.  He talked about how his daughter in law had played soccer at UW-Madison. As we continued to listen to Mr. Tom Andres talk, it was evident that he was someone important.  He was wearing his floppy hat, red t-shirt, and khaki shorts but there was just something about listening to him talk about his family and their amazing work that made me want to know more about him.  Sure enough when I googled him I found this:  https://www.swnews4u.com/local/southwest/andres-brings-plethora-of-experience-to-benton-schools/

I truly believe that stories have power.  I try to teach my 5th graders how to write their own stories for that reason -- their stories have power.  As a lover of all things magic, I believe that magic is in the stories, too.  There was definitely something magical about our conversation with Tom Andres on Saturday. I want to work on knowing my own story.  This is my first step.

I was listening to a TED talk by Susan Conley and she talked about encouraging students to write with their heart.  I think that is what makes writing and sharing my own story so hard.  It means I have to trust that whoever I share it with or whoever reads it will not stomp all over it.  TRUST.  That is the hard part.   I know I want to dig in to my story but first I want to deal with the part about trust. 

Today I want to share with you a little bit about why I don't trust.  That's where I think my work on my own story needs to begin.  

During the summer of 2014, I decided to switch schools and districts.  I left what was comfortable and familiar where I had 16 years of experience to risk starting over with something unknown.  That in itself was enough of a challenge but what made things even tougher was when I walked into the teacher's lounge early in the year to hear, "Nobody at her old school liked her.  I can't believe ...."  The conversation was about me and I heard every word that was said.  This often replays in my mind.  I think about how I can unhear the conversation that I heard. It's impossible for that to happen. I've been asked to work with the person who was saying things about me that day in a few different ways.  I have worked hard to hold my head up each time.  I'm sure we all have stories like this but I am going to work through mine.  My story of not being enough to others and feeling invisible is not a story that's just mine but I'm ready to start telling all the parts of my story.

@fellowflowers

Here's to a great week of possibility ahead!  

Mid May Check in

 

 18/22 days of meeting my step goal. (82%)

Somehow this month I am a week behind.  I would have loved to have taken time for a mid May check in but here we are on the 22nd.  The days seem to be flying by and I am not doing a great job of getting ahead on things.  Three weeks from today I will be toeing the line at Made To Move in Madison.  To say that I am undertrained is an understatement.  

A couple of weeks ago at our staff meeting our building principal compared the school year to a marathon.  He said that the marathon runners don't get this close to the finish line and slow down.  We can't slow down or let up on instruction and expectations either.  I thought about the marathons I've run and I am horrible at the "finish strong" part.  I am going to do better 

May has been a mental struggle for me that I wasn't expecting.  This is not to excuse me but just to explain it the best that I can.  

Last Sunday I had a crazy freakout.  It's really funny to hear Kate and Will retell the scenario as they saw it happen.  Here's a little bit of the situation from my perspective:

Roger and I are taking a Financial Peace University course.  It's hard for me because it is a completely different mindset change.  I have repeatedly (since I was 18 and in college) used credit cards to excess.  It's a horrible habit but it has definitely been one of the things I've used to "cope" with stress.  Are you feeling sad about something?   Buy 4 pairs of jeans.  Are you super proud of your recent race?   Reward yourself with 3 new pairs of Nikes.  Worried about something that might happen next week?  Distract yourself by spending $400 you don't have. Did you work hard this week?  Let's get a few new dresses for school.  Clearly I needed this Financial Peace course but it is hard for me.   

The course requires that budget/plan every dollar, watch a video and then attend the Sunday class together.  On Sunday morning we watched our video and it hit me in the heart HARD for a couple of reasons.  First it hit me because Dave Ramsey told the story of his friend who took his entire family on a vacation to Greece - all of his kids and grandkids - with cash.  In June of 2016, my parents took all of us on a family vacation (it wasn't a $70,000 trip but....).  I want to be able to do those kinds of things for my family.  If I don't make some changes to how I spend/save money, I won't be able to.  

The second part of Dave Ramsey's story was about the same many and how his family bought a bunch of new bicycles and gave them away.  Roger and I would love to be able to give in ways like that whether it be to give back to our local community or to our alma maters in scholarships.  The video we watched went on to talk about the next steps to financial peace with investments, children's college funds, paying off the mortgage, and building wealth and giving.  It just seems so out of reach that I cried big ol' crocodile tears.  I felt so defeated and frustrated with myself and I just needed to have my cry. I went for a run too.

I saw a tweet from @Running_MrJones that said, "Some of us run for fitness.  Some of us run for peace of mind.  Some of us run for cake.  Some of us run for medals.  Some of us run to be a better me.  Some of us are running aways from our past, our problems, the madness of living.  We run for different reasons but running always helps."   If that isn't the 100% truth, it has to be at least 98% truth ;-)

Last Sunday I ran 6 miles for peace of mind.  It wasn't easy but it made it possible for me to return home and do all the things I needed to do without dwelling on the frustration of the early morning video.  My purpose for running is different on different days and in different stages of my life.  Thankfully I found running.

On May 12, 2017, my dad got sick and was admitted to the hospital in Iowa City.  It was Mother's Day Weekend.  Early Monday, June 12, he passed away.  That same morning I had a job interview for a job I really wanted.  I left my parent's house for the interview right behind the van that took my father's body to the mortuary. I was offered the job.  I wasn't able to accept the job....big life changes really shouldn't be made during bereavement.  

May and June have been hard months for me since 2017.  I know they are going to be hard so I try not to overcomplicate things.  I go to bed at a reasonable time and I try to get up early enough to run before work.  I eat as healthy as I can within reason....after all we own a pizza place and I don't cook....another  reason I run is so I can eat the pizza without feeling all the guilt. 

This year I am feeling all the extra sad feels of May.  The final group of students that I taught in Illinois are graduating from high school.  Actually their ceremony was last night.  I am going through some mourning over this.  I am trying to reframe this in my own mind.  It's been a little easier because on Tuesday night Kate played soccer in Galena.  After the game we went into Wal Mart and right as we walked in I saw Nicolene.  Once upon a time I had worked with her at the Stillman Inn Tea Room but more recently (8 years ago) I had the privilege of being her oldest daughter's 5th grade teacher.  I hugged Nicolene and we caught up on how her daughter is doing amazing things.  One thing that I truly treasure is the end of the year gift that Nicolene's daughter gave me in May 2013.  

On Thursday night we traveled to Middleton to watch Kate play soccer.  On the way home I realized that it was Graduation Eve for the group of kids I taught my last year in Illinois.  My heart felt all the feels and I sent a quick message to one of them.  I hope he knows how much it meant to me that he wrote me back.  

Life is hard and some days (lots of days) I am not feeling "it."  Thankfully I have an amazing family who makes me laugh more than cry.  I have found a way to run for my sanity, too.

Friday was the 5th grade concert for my current students.  In a sense it is the unwritten beginning of the end of the school year celebrations.  There are always big emotions with the event.  The music teacher does an amazing job with it and with all of the strange things that COVID threw out, she and the 5th graders far exceeded expectations.  The songs they performed were so passionate and soulful. 

 It would have been a perfect Friday to go home after school and kick up my feet, but Kate had another soccer game so I excitedly made my way to Platteville to cheer her on.  By the time we got home and ate dinner, I still needed to get some activity in so I headed out for 2 easy miles knowing that today was going to be an early day of soccer and track spectating.

This morning I got up and set out for 5 miles that turned into 4...It wasn't ideal but it was better than 0.  The miles felt hard and hot even before 8 am. Hard miles help the heavenly miles create a balance with each other.  

I have 21 days until my Made to Move 10K and I am going to get there and give it my best.  #finishstrong

This Week's Slides

Bud, Not Buddy Chapter 15

 

Bud, Not Buddy Chapter 16

Slides

May Day

 I absolutely love the possibilities of NEW!   New month - awesome.  New Week - love it!  New day--sweet opportunites.  New shoes---even better 😜   But seriously.  There is something amazing about NEW and all that it represents.  

This month I am working on focusing on some new habits that will hopefully bring me closer to my goals, but before I move on to the new, I'd love to reflect on what's been happening in the last month.

April is a big birthday month at our house.  Both Kate and Will celebrated during April.  I cannot believe that I have been a mom for 17 years.  That seems so unreal to me especially since I really do often still feel 30.  

April brought about Kate's first college visit.  She loved everything about Marian University.  April brought about the beginning of spring sports:  soccer and track.  

April was a good reading month for me.  I finished Bravey, Outliers, and You're Not Enough.  I'm excited for my list of to be read titles for May.  

I made it to my step goal 23 days out of 30.  While I wish I had met the 80%, I am okay with what it was.

I have some big goals in terms of money and running/health this month.   I'm determined to stick to the budget this month.  It means I need to avoid buying anything new that isn't necessary.  Like I said at the beginning of  this post, I LOVE new....it's going to be hard not to buy new things but I know that I don't need things. I'm going to take this one week at a time.  I'll try and check in about it each week.  We are taking a Financial Peach course. Have you ever taken one?  Are you familiar with Dave Ramsey?  I'd love to hear from you about this if you have experience.

My health/ running goals are pretty typical.  I want to meet my step goal at least 80% of the days.  I'd like to run 25 miles or more each week.  I'm going to drink water daily (that's really hard for me....I rarely drink water).  I have about 6 weeks until Made to Move.  I'm working toward a 54 miinutes 10K.

I hope to help my kids feel strong and confident in their final month of this school year.  I think this is so hard.  This week I watched frustration and sadness show in both my kids.  Things in this world are telling them they aren't enough....other kids, coaches, teachers.  It sucks to watch them experience disappointment.  I know I can't keep them from it, but I hope I can teach them how to overcome it!

Today's the first day of the new month and I got out there for 5 miles to kick things off.  The weather is beautiful.  

What goals do you have for May?