Seasons

I’ve found life functions best in seasons.

The anticipation of the next good thing coming gets me through the mundane today.

I love knowing that change is just around the corner.

I think that’s part of why I loved school so much. There was always that steady cycle of challenges and rest.

The start of the semester always brought a rush of excitement as I jumped into studying, completing assignments and picking up new bits of knowledge.
The middle of the semester would find me counting down the days til the next break with everyone else, madly scribbling out homework, and polishing off essays hours before the sun rose the day it was due.
And almost inevitably, once the end of the semester came around, I was tired of all my classes, ‘so ready’ to be done with them, get some grades, and start my summer job..
My summers floated by (quite literally) in a mess of water-slides, whistles, splashing, and with teaching small people an the dance of swimming well.
And the sun.

Those seasons of study and rest easily pushed me through four years of college to graduation.

Now here I am. All graduated and grown.

And suddenly without those rhythms that have kept my life in a happy give and take of knowledge and rest that have run my life since I was little.

So now I get to make my own.

I have the natural rhythms of motherhood and a baby.

The sleeping, the feeding, the soothing, the mothering, the closeness, the growing. The long term type with outcomes less measured than I’m used to. Years of waiting, praying, and barely progressing to maturity will fill this season to the brim.

Another rhythm I’ve been adding to my life is running.

Running gives me the lovely short term goals to work for. Effort and results that I can more or less control come into play giving me a satisfying sense of ability and strength.

I’ve kept running since my last two races in September, but since I wasn’t signed up for more races in the near future I noticed a definite lag in motivation.

So I gave myself a goal: I want to run a half marathon next summer sometime.

And I want to run a couple more shorter distance races along the way.
I want to get faster.
And I don’t want to get hurt.

To start my training (that’s kind of a serious word… is it really that?) off right, a couple weeks ago I won an entry to our local Turkey Day 5K bright and early on thanksgiving. I can’t wait. I’m hoping to beat my only post-pregnancy 5K time of 28:28 and get closer to my pre-pregnancy PR of 25:53.
I want a 27:xx.
I’m dreaming of 26:xx.
It should be fun :)

Undoubtedly, as I make my way through these newest types of not-school seasons, I’ll find myself in the same throws of angst each season brings -over the top enthusiasm, mundane plodding, gasping for the finish, the joy of completing something hard – whether it be my long term or short term projects.

But that’s just how it goes.

And it keeps life interesting.

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