Living

I had fully intended on writing a post yesterday, I had ideas, I was ready to roll. Then as I was babysitting my awesome little 5 month old nephew, I turned on the news. I saw just what had happened in our crazy world, and everything else drained out of me. I'm afraid that nothing I say will  do this awful tragedy any justice, so I will just say that we are all lucky to be blessed with life each and everyday. Take time to tell the ones you love that you love them and do so as much as possible. As cliche as it is, live each day to the fullest. Life is a gift. 

I have been having trouble sleeping lately. It is this restlessness that led me to being awake around 4am when I heard my phone vibrate the email warning. It was a nice little surprise to find an email from the USAT about my qualification for Age Group Nationals. 

I know it isn't that big of a deal, but my sleepless mind thought it was pretty cool. The only issue with this guy is it is in Wisconsin, and it's a week before Timberman. No matter, it is still fun to get cool little emails in the early morning saying you were good enough for something. 

After that email I was able to fall back to sleep for a few more hours. Breakfast was my new favorite PALEO inspired dish, eggs over easy, avocado, and bacon. I'm not sure how anyone has breakfast without bacon. Coffee and bacon, to be exact. 

My ankle has been a little cranky lately, all the breaks and sprains have made it moody now that it's thirty, so I decide to ride the road bike instead of run. It was my first time out on the roads in below 40 degree weather this season so I made sure I dressed the part. It was a beautiful, cold, perfect day to ride. 

My goal was to ride out to my old house, my path taking me through Sea Bright, a town particularly devastated in the recent hurricane, much more so than my own. I took it all in while going as fast as my out of shape legs would push me in the wind. There were a lot of beat up empty store fronts, and houses torn apart by waves that have since receded back to their original home. If any part of me thought that the hurt and reality of Sandy was behind me, this ride reminded me that it wasn't quite gone, and it may never be. So many people are still left with nothing, and still struggling to rebuild while the rest of us go on with our lives. I rode right over the big old bridge into my old town of Highlands. Here, things were not much different than they were a month ago. My house looked a little different however, better, it looked more like a project and less like a shipwreck. But I couldn't stay long, I lingered long enough to snap a picture and rode on, back through the rubble towards my new home. 


The ride was good, a test to see where my legs were so far. The hill over the bridge killed me, and the wind made me a whimpering little girl. My conclusion, I am feeling good and ready to suffer through the rest of the winter. 

All and all a rough day. The kind of day that you just want to put behind you, only taking with you the lessons learned from the experiences of the past 24 hours. I learned that I wont be taking any more rides to my old place, it is time to  live in the present and not in the past. The other lesson I brought away from the day was one that most of us already know, but we forget to see through with each passing day... Life is precious, here one day and gone the next. We must love with all our hearts and live as though each day might be our last.