Running Tour

Nearly every day we take to the street of The Prov and fall in love with the lil gems we find. So one day we just took my crappy camera with us and documented a few. This is really only a glimpse of 1% of the things we see and talk about but hey, 1% of one hundred billion dollars wouldn't suck...

We love blossoms. LOVE. Them.

Pretty trees. Pretty mountains. Pretty 7-Peaks? Sure.

Hi!

This is why I love Utah springs and summers...

So. These are the most beautiful blossoms ever. Magnolias. We saw them and had to stop running to investigate. And by investigate yes, I mean knocking on a random door and asking what kind of tree it was. We talked to the sweetest older man and woman ever for like 15 minutes. Felt like we were all great friends and they even invited us to rest on their bench (see below) because "Sometimes exercise is a waste of human energy," to quote our new best friends.

Dangling blossoms. Oh hey, I'm in a fairy tale.

Brooke hides. 

And eats...?

So every time we run by this-I want to jump and grab it and swing about for a bit. So I did.

She's so strong...

Urban chic. Sweat totally goes with that, right?

 To quote Brooke "Is that NOT the creepiest thing you have ever seen?"

Reminds me of London. And caution tape is always cool. And I'm awkward. Modeling future killed.

Oh McGraw...

This is the thing...I'm not crazy big into country. I don't mind certain songs. And there are a few that sneak their way into my head/heart...and so...

I was enjoying my morning commute today, alternating between listening to my book and the radio, when Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" flooded into Coche. And I loved every second of it because A) He has a lovely voice. B) I like the melody. C) And the message (Cheesy? I know-thank you very much).

Get Inspired.

"My line" is...

And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter and I gave forgiveness I had been denying"-

So yeah-live like you are dying. Give your all. Risk. Be happy. Breathe. Jump. Experience. Belt out country songs as you drive to work. Laugh while running. Love. Jump off things. Hike. Move where you feel drawn to. Try new foods. Pull pranks (of the friendly variety). Climb. Make new friends. Grow. Bake. Create. Feed your friend with giant wooden utensils.

Live.

Sneakers and Sidewalks (Hey, alliteration. You're nerdy.)

This is friend Brooke.  Together-we are epic.

Ok, but really. 

We do lots of things together. We road trip. We go to Diego's and eat tacos while watching soccer on one of the 4 tvs, all of which play different channels.  We play in crashing waves. Brooke gets sunburned, I don't. We play kickball. We play Rummikub, Mancala, Scrabble and any other game we can find. We eat s'mores. We talk. We laugh. We buy pet fish. We bake. Etc.

But mostly.

Mostly. We run. And so...here are my ramblings on the torture I love to put my body through.

A few weeks ago we went on the best run of my life. My legs were fresh and my whole body was in sync (Shout out to Justin and my middle school years...). Around mile 5 I looked over at Brooke and laughed, "I feel so alive! I feel like I could do anything. And I don't mean just run forever or hike anything. I mean I can do anything! I can go to grad school. I can work a real job. I can be the woman I want to be. I can tackle any problem that comes my way. I can move to Seattle or New York or where ever I want. I can live! I can do anything!" And it was empowering and healing and one of those perfect moments.

Running calms the mind. It is like the process of having your feet fall on the concrete over and over again files things away. Each stride opening a mental filing cabinet and placing the post-it notes and scraps of paper with scribbles on them into their proper place.  And I don't mean the running where you go hard and fast because you don't want to be able to think about anything else.  You want the silence that a screaming body brings-in a sense, literally running away from everything that is going on.  But the steady, rythmic, comfortable run. It is like your breaths slowly cleanse your entire being while you roam the streets of where ever you may be.

Also, I just like to feel my body work. Especially when I fall into my rhythm and everything becomes a little more smooth.  Even when my legs burn going up a hill, or a cramp strikes my side, or my right knee begins to ache (as it always does, silly lil guy-he needs to stop doing that pronto).  I think it ties back into that whole feeling alive thing.  

I mean, we were meant to live. Hence why we are alive. Der. But I mean really live and not just survive.  Not just go through the motions of day to day life until you pass away. Eating, sleeping, breathing. But living.

So why I love running?

-Because when after a long day when I get a "You wanna go running?" text any tiredness leaves my body and I get incredibly excited as I pull my hair back and bolt out the door. 

-Because it is better than spending the night on a couch.

-Because I get to be outside.

-Because being outside at night is soothing.

-Because it makes me happy. Endorphins and a sense of accomplishment.

-Because I get to talk my day through with a good friend and hear about hers in return.

-Because it gives me energy, I sleep better, and I feel healthier.

-And mostly, because I feel alive.

So now I sit in sweaty clothing typing, waiting for my body to calm down with an ice pack on my knee before I drag myself off to bed. And I love it. 

Thank you.

The Jobs

For Jessica and anyone else who cares:

Job One: 

I work on Tim Bridgewater's campaign.  He is a candidate for U.S. Senate running against Senator Bob Bennett as well as the other candidates (der).  The office is in a beautiful old farmhouse in South Jordan and I actually don't mind the drive.  After I memorized every song on the radio I started getting books on CD from the library and there are days when I get excited to hit rush-hour traffic so I can just sit and listen.  Nerd? I know.  What I do? Everything and anything. Run errands to get stamps/tape/food , schedule events, call delegates/county chair people/chambers/etc., proof read, help set up events/attend events, answer the phone, gather volunteers, gather information, etc. Campaigns are great. Events are intense and a lot of fun.  I get to meet all these random, great, brilliant people. I make friends with the other candidates campaign workers and we chat while I wear my red Bridgewater t-shirt and they sport their "I like Mike" pins or hand out "Bennett Mints".  I'm not really politically inclined but I like my job and am learning more and more everyday.  Coworker Randy (affectionately called Randers-we ninja fight), also known as 'Randy the Republican', is wonderful to me and explains anything I want to know.  I can ask him any 'dumb question' about politics and he kindly explains it simply but without insulting my intelligence.  I love sitting around and hearing everyone discuss political issues and politicians that I know very little about-it's entertaining and educational though I may leave with a "Politics according to Greg-Adam-Randy" view of everything.  

Job Two:

I am on call as a mentor at a treatment center down in Mapleton called Discovery Ranch. I love love love this job and Political Job has been nice enough to let me work at DR occasionally.  I mostly just hang out with the kids, keep them in line, talk to them, and take head count.  The kids are seriously so incredible and I adore them.  It is definitely hard and disappointing whenever they try and pull anything stupid such as running away or stealing cough syrup and its heartbreaking to hear their stories but that just comes with the job and I wouldn't trade it for anything (though I have to for Bridgewaterness-the curse of having to have a reliable job). 

Anyway.  That is how I spend my life now and do I love it? Yes.  Am I doing what I love? Different question...Work wise? Sometimes. In life? Yes.  I fill my little free time with the things and people I love and really, I'm incredibly happy.  

Hello-I'm in love...

Mmm...

Beauty.

There go my paychecks...including future ones...

I'll eat Ramen for a couple months and be thrilled with it.

Nothing Substantial

I have been wanting to post something lately for a few reasons. Uno-Just to post. Dos-Because I wanted to write and write and write and feel like writing again.  Tres-Thoughts all jumbly and random=must spew. Cuatro-Writing makes me happy and gives me hope-it is like the process itself bolsters me up to wage war on scary decisions, large laundry piles, and rush-hour traffic (No, I do not have every word to 'Tick Tock' memorized due to the companionship of my radio en route to jobs 1 and 2).

But I have nothing to write on. Except for the fact that I have more quarter/half written entries than entries 'finished' and posted for whoever to read whenever.  Finish your thoughts, little girl-seal 'em up with some weak Spanglish and final punctuation.

Speaking of-punctuation is cool. 

Me gusta.

(...and final punctuation...)

Period.

Here We Go-

Graduation (Official) came and went with little excitement. Turning in a final-not that climatic. However, standing and taking it against the wall of the crowded testing center was a little different...We'll chalk it up to the Cosmos (BYU pun definitely not intended) wanting to make my final experience as an undergraduate memorable!

So now I'm off...running full speed ahead into "The Great Unknown"...depending on the day there are other adjectives thrown in there such as terrifying, exciting, endless, etc. And as an amateur strolling out on my own I'll tell you this much...so far so good. And it's scary. And it's liberating. And so far so good.

I have been blessed with many incredible people in my life over the past 22 years but specifically over the past year or so. Sometimes I sit back in awe at the greatness I see around me and marvel that these amazing people are, for some crazy reason, willing to spend time with me. One of these lovely people would be friend Rachel (not to be confused with awesome SIL Rachel). During some random day over the past few months we met in a practice room where she serenaded me while I studied, taking breaks to talk in between songs. It was one of those days when the adjectives dark, scary, daunting, grey, torturous, etc were attached to "The Great Unknown". And then, once again, I was blessed to have this amazing friend turn to me and say something like...

"Becca. This is amazing! You are free! You are graduated-you can do whatever you want. So do what you love!"

And maybe that is what all of my supportive friends and family have been telling me for the past...forever...but it hit really hard that day and so...

What do I love to do? What am I going to spend the rest of my life doing, filling the space of being a student (except for the part when I go back to school...but that's another story...). What makes me me? What makes me happy? What do I love?

So I'm developing a list...and "It makes my boots feel lighter". (Read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close).

And part of me feels like maybe stumbling, struggling, and being scared isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's simply a sign of eminent growth. It isn't failure. Failing is falling and not getting back up again. So I'll make my list. And I'll try. And I'm sure I'll trip but hey, battle scars are sexy-right?