A Month of Change

April has been a really busy month for myself and my family.  April usually means baseball season has begun and we are constantly out on a ball field cheering Tim on.  This year, we also added Avery to the mix, which makes everything busier.  I also have to square away running time for myself and be able to do the normal things at home.  With all this going on, we still had time to visit my Grandparents earlier in the month, plant the flower beds and our new garden beds.  Things have changed drastically from a year ago when we were just trying to get the baby's room ready.  We had all those pre-race jitters of an oncoming baby and we were freaking out.  But a year later, we now have a walking, talking beautiful daughter who keeps us busy every minute.

April has also been about change.  As most people know, Lori and I were in a bad spot in our lives and we have decided to work on everything to make ourselves and our family better.  I am not going to divulge to much on here because this isn't the place but we are happy.  Nobody can judge either of us because they are not in our relationship and I hope people keep it that way.  But at the end of the day, we are much happier than ever and look forward to all the challenges and achievements that are part of marriage and family.

On a running note, my training has never been better.  I have hit my biggest week and month mileage since I started.  I ran 115 miles by the end of the month which killed my best month ever.  it helps that i am at my lightest weight and have been running 5 times a week instead of 4.  I am also pleased with my speed.  One of the great benefits of the J&A Training Team has been meet-ups for runs on the weekends.  Last week I did 12.5 with a pace of 8:42.  My goal is to break 2 hours in my half in May.  I should be able to do this.  I have also ran a few races in the past few weeks.  I am also excited that Lori decided to go on her own journey with signing up for the Dirty Girl 5k.  We have been able to spend some quality time together running and getting coffee together.

Weight Watchers has been going great.  I am only 2.8 pounds from lifetime.  I have been going over my daily points a lot lately but that is mostly because I am running more.  I don't feel too bad when I earn over 100 activity points a week.  I do miss my Saturday Morning meetings but I have purely enjoyed getting outside every Saturday morning also.

Its crazy to think about how much my life has changed but it has only changed for the better.  Avery will be one year old next week, Lori and I are the healthiest we have ever been and Tim is enjoying being on his travel team and the Princess Anne Middle School baseball team.  We also got to enjoy the ODU vs. UVA baseball game this week.  Avery really enjoyed all the sites and sounds.

Dreams from the past

Our trip to Pittsburgh brought back so many good memories.  As a kid, I spent a week every summer with them and at least spring break or winter break with them.  I loved every minute of it.  As a kid, it was the perfect landscape.  They had a huge yard, wasn't flat, and different kinds of trees and fauna.  It was just great to play in.  And when i got old enough, I got to ride the lawnmower, the 3 wheelers, or whatever else we had there.  My pap would take me on walks in the woods, take me to check his trap line, take me to work with him.  I loved every minute of it.  My grandma would take me on her school bus routes.  We would go to Eat and Park for lunch and I would always get a cookie with a smiley face on it.

Not all my cousins got these experiences like I did.  Probably only two of us did.  My cousin, Dylan and I.  And even for him it was different because by the time he was 12, his parents separated and he missed out on some good years that were ruined by his parents drama.  But Dylan and I were always the closest to Pap and Grandma.

As a kid, I would fight my parents when they left me.  I would drag on to the car as they pulled out.  I didn't figure it out until it was much older but it was mainly because of my mom's breast cancer and how she lost all the weight from chemotherapy.

But I can say this.  I loved every minute I got with my grandparents.  I wasn't lucky enough to live close by so when I got to spend time with them I did.  I loved every minute fishing, hunting, walking, road trips and everything else I did with them.  My childhood memories and imagination wouldn't be as grand if it wasn't for the wondrous place that was their house.  They had the scary basement that was damp and creepy, the narrow stairs, the water that smelled like eggs.  Every thing grandparents had, they did.

Now that my grandparents are much older, I realize how much of an influence they were on me.  I hope that I can distill that into my kids.  I hope that I can watch Avery imagine the world like I did.  I hope I can help explore the world through her eyes and remember what it is like.  I hope that Avery can remember her great grandparents and how sweet they all are.

I can never thank my Pap and Grandma for all that they did but I can show my kids how they influenced me.

I sometimes wish I could rewind to when I was a kid so I can spend one more week with them during the summer.  But that is not realistic.  The reality is my grandparents are in their 80s and I live far away.  Every second I get with them now is a precious moment in time.  I can't grasp on to those seconds long enough but they are there in my thoughts every second.  I know having Avery and Tim there for four days probably motivated them to keep fighting.  That is all I want.  I hope my kids get to see my grandparents one more time.

Not every kid had grand parents as amazing as mine and not many kids have great grand parents as amazing as Tim and Avery have.  I am just lucky to have them.