Years, Days, Minutes Tag

20 years ago...
I was about to enter the 7th grade. My favorite part of going back to school was the school supplies. I loved the smell of freshly sharpened pencils, the look of a perfectly clean notebook and sitting down and organizing all of my supplies. I never liked the first day of school though. I was always so nervous.

I went to a K-8 school with about 400 kids. I know this is small by most standards but to me it was huge. Every grade had two classes and the only subject I didn't have in my homeroom was English. In 7th grade we switched for math, English, social studies, and science. I was so scared of getting lost or forgetting where I needed to be (there were only four rooms to pick from). The first week I was a nervous wreck and I would wake each morning at 4 am and just wait until it was time to get up. It only got worse in high school. The good part was after the first week I seemed to adjust and the rest of the year went well.

10 years ago...
I had just graduated from college and was living in Missoula, MT. I spent the summer working at a domestic violence shelter and baby-sitting for a family about 20 hours a week. I knew I wanted to go to graduate school but I didn't know where and I didn't know what I wanted to study. I had an undergraduate degree in psychology and toyed around with the idea of getting my Ph.D. in social psychology. Instead I decided to do AmeriCorps. I worked for a non-profit that provided mentors for foster children.

5 years ago...
I was living in Denver and had just completed my first marathon. I had moved to Denver after graduating from the University of Oregon with a Masters of Public Administration. The decision to move to Denver was made in part because of a boy. We soon split once I moved there and I found myself living in the real world with no family nearby and only a few friends. It was probably the lowest point of my life. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life and felt lost in the world. Looking back I can say that training for the marathon really helped. It gave me a goal for each day, whether it was a 20 minute run or a 2 hour run. It also helped me meet a few people and made me realize I was capable of doing so much more than I thought I could.

3 years ago...
I was living in Baltimore and had completed my first triathlon. I had also just met Adam. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I belonged. Life seemed simple and I was happy.

So far this past year I have learned that...
I need to be easier on myself. I need to allow myself to be proud of my accomplishments and enjoy each day. I have learned that I am not fun-loving and easy going but that is not a bad thing. I have learned that I need a creative outlet and I can't spend all my free time training for an endurance events. I have learned that I don't always have to have a major goal that I am working towards. Sometimes just being a friend, daughter, sister, and wife is enough.

Yesterday I...
had a great day. I woke up, took Izzy for a walk, came home and made cinnamon rolls, read the paper, finished painting the railing on the deck, took a nap, went to a movie, finished the laundry, vacuumed and picked up the house, ran on the treadmill, and watched the most amazing swim finish in history. It was the first time I ever jumped up from the couch and cheered at the television. It was amazing! I still get chills when I talk about it.

Tomorrow...
will be another day at work. I have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon then I will go for a 1 hour run. Oh, and I will watch the Olympics. :)

Next year I will be...
happy just being me.