Tuesday, December 12, 2017

What do you know about those around you?

Couple things from today.....

We have had a few things break around the house and had our fav repairman over to fix them. Since May (when we last saw him), he discovered that his cancer had returned, has had a hip replacement to remove huge masses of the cancer, had radiation for the tumors on his back and remaining tumors on pelvis, is doing immunotherapy treatment, and will have his next round of radiation on the 19th of this month to treat the tumor in his neck. He showed me photos of the masses and told me all of this while he worked away at removing an old fan. He's 54. He is optimistic that the treatments will give him more time. We also talked about how he couldn't be angry about his own prognosis when he'd go to the doctor and see young people with this awful disease. What an amazing way to start the day. Hearing his story really made me take a step back and think about my blessings.

This afternoon, I spent time with some of my fav gals for lunch and a movie. We saw Wonder. I pretty much cried from start to finish. My advice - go see it. Then see it again and make sure your kids see it. Everyone should see this movie. It's well done and will make you think about how you treat others. Given the news lately, we need to be having conversations about how to treat one another and we should be leading by example. Whether you have kids or not, you should treat others with respect and kindness.

I know we all try to be extra kind during the holiday season but maybe that kindness could extend in to the new year and beyond. Perhaps if we put down our electronics and connected with one another, the world would be less angry and judgmental. There is a saying that you can't hate me if you don't know me (or something similar) so if we took the opportunity to stop being so quick to judge others in all situations and get to know them then we might just start a movement.

Happy Holidays friends!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Taking our circus on the road....

There are many stages to Altman Family travels. This post describes our current situation.

One year ago....Altman wins Kiawah Island Marathon and we readily agree it will be amazing to come back in 2017.

Months out....Altman asks me if I really want to go. Me: Sure! We had so much fun. Altman agrees and signs up for marathon.

Still months out....Altman: still wanna go on that trip? Me (having forgotten the drive from our last vacation bc I may have dementia or intentionally block certain memories): Sure. Sounds great. A little break would really be good for us. And you know, "they" say we should be making memories with these guys.

Sometime close the last convo...Me: Are you booking someplace to stay for the trip? No hotels (or crappy motels). Remember, we DON'T do well in them. Altman: No problem. I will get us that great cottage from last time.

October....the Altman Family heads to Columbus for work and marathoning. Staying in the hotel is awful. I vow NEVER to do it again.

Getting close to trip time...Me: Man, I dread that drive. Maybe we should leave early and stay overnight someplace. Altman: Maybe so. Me: Looks up Airbnb rentals. Altman: Searches hotels and tells me he found a good looking place. It's halfway there and we could leave right after school. Me: I say okay. It can't be that bad bc we will hardly be there.

Days before trip....children are unbearable and cancel the trip 5 times.

Day before trip...I get really stressed bc there is no way we are ready to leave town.

Day of trip....children are out of control. They are fighting over the 2 DVD players and space in the back seat. I threaten to cancel Christmas.

Get to first stop....small one refuses food - again. Bigger buries face in tablet then begins to antagonize everyone by taking 45 minutes to eat a quesadilla. After dinner, kids prove that there is no reason the four of us should ever stay in a hotel. I threaten again to cancel Christmas.

Overnight and early morning....kids piled in bed on top of mommy while Altman "sleeps" solo. People slam doors in hallway making it impossible to actually sleep. Oldest wakes before his normal time at home....

Morning of first stop....kids prove again that we should NEVER stay in a place where there is only one room. Kids find Buddy the Elf in car and remember that he's watching them and they should be kind and listen to directions. Buddy is not effective.

Drive to destination....children continue fighting. We stop 6 times in three hours for bathroom breaks. For this trip, we get behind a school bus making afternoon stops while no youngest whisper screams that this is taking SOOOOOOO long. The whisper scream is bc mommy and daddy are exhausted from no sleep and have taken turns napping in car.

We finally arrive and hit up unfamiliar grocery store and buy tons of random stuff.

Altman is set up and working the expo. The kids and I are going to venture out in the rain on hopes of seeing ocean....it's forecasted to rain through Saturday.

Thanks to our sweet friend watching the house and our other pet children. Apparently, the pet children were fighting last night too.

At this point, I wonder if we should stop taking trips and just stay home. I suppose if we did then I wouldn't have any awesome content to keep friends entertained.



Sunday, November 26, 2017

#VolTwitter and the future of...well, anything and everything

Today was fascinating.

I check Twitter a few times each day and am probably more active during football season because it makes it easy to check scores and stay in the know. Today, I spent the majority of my afternoon watching and refreshing my feed as Vol Nation banded together over the potential hire for our next head coach. And their actions have changed the course of the direction of that coaching search and our future as a program.

Here's the disclaimer: This post is not about UT football, the potential head coach, or who said or did what withing UT's administration or our major funding sources. I am focusing here on communications and how Vol fans just proved that social media is a powerful force and we shouldn't forget that anytime soon.

I'm so old that there were only about 6 classes focused on PR when I was in college. In fact, my degree is a Bachelor in Communications with a Concentration in Public Relations. The majority of my classes were journalism based. To turn in assignments, we saved our work on a disk and then passed it to the person next to us. And those were the fat monitor desktops that took about 10 minutes to load and be ready for us and they were the newest technology at the time.

So, when I think of all the changes over the years in communications and how people provide feedback and opinions and news, I look at today's events as something that should be discussed in classes, among organizational staff and leaders, and PR professionals for months to come. I didn't learn in a time of instant news. I had to physically call people or meet them in-person to get information for class stories (or watch Judge Judy but that's a whole other story).

Seemingly #VolTwitter shut down efforts to hire the next head coach in the span of a few hours. I'm basing that on what I find to be good sports sources and things can always change.

Not only did the people of Twitter provide contact information for the current AD and encourage people to call/text/email him but they created a call to action for people to go to campus and protest. They posted pictures of the rock and then live shots from said protest and then as it moved from the stadium to the athletics building.

The whole thing started roughly midday with some information on the next hire and the movement took on a life of its own.

That's powerful.

We've seen many movements on social media over the years but I don't remember one that hit so close to home for me. Anyone who knows me will know that I love TN Football. I always have so this story is a big deal to me for many reasons. It's important as a Vol fan but it is also important as someone who still very much works in PR/Communications not just for my jobs but for my community service as well.

Folks were - and still are - tweeting and re-tweeting their disgust for the potential hire. National media personalities were arguing with Vol fans over the situation. Articles that were posted a year ago were easily found and posted on various outlets so that fans could understand the unrest. I read posts where someone was for this hire change their mind and realize that it wasn't just about football to the fan base.

To me, Twitter effectively put enough pressure on this coach and on the administration to stop the deal. Last time I checked, this person's name was mentioned in more than 55,000 tweets. He only has 8,569 followers when I checked this evening. He doesn't seem to be active on Twitter but Vol fans made sure that his name was mentioned over and over again to our AD voicing that he was not the right person for the job here.

Vol fans stopped the deal cold. Again, that's powerful.

If people on social media are passionate enough to create multiple calls to action and stop a big deal, they have changed the landscape for future coaching searches and so much more.

This isn't just a tale of a head coach search gone wrong, this is a tale that as a person or business owner, we have to understand the power of social media. We need to have communications knowledge or a team on staff or at least someone readily available to advise us when we are being mentioned on social media and how to handle it.

Today, we saw fans band together to stop the hiring of a head coach. Let that sink in. Vol fans stopped a deal between UT and the next head coach. Maybe I'm wrong but the perception from the day is that there was too much pressure on the candidate and the AD to move forward. Tomorrow may tell us a different story.

There's so much to this situation. Beyond the social media efforts, there are so many communications topics that could be addressed but tonight, I want you to think about the power of social media. I want you to think about the power of a tweet, a re-tweet, and the fact that anyone can pull old articles or share contact information.

Love it or hate it, social media is a powerful outlet and I believe it will only get stronger after today.

For now, I'm shutting it down and prepping for the week ahead. See you on the roads!


Sunday, November 19, 2017

The Beautiful Mess of Life

I am all the way Type-A. I know - that's shocking for some of you. And, my top strength in the strengthfinder eval is "Achiever" so I know that's shocking too.

That means that I want things off the floor, laundry done, and order around the house and yard. That also means that I want homework done, reading logs complete, spelling words learned, a healthy meal on the table (and for the kids to possibly eat it), and my workouts completed on top of working full-time.

However, it's not possible for there to be order and for all the things to be done when I want them done and the way I want them done. I have two kids and three dogs. The house is going to be a mess. We have worked for many years and we're fortunate to have this home - even when I don't like it so much. It's two stories and basement which means the mess extends over all three levels. The laundry is going to sometimes be re-washed three times before it makes it to the dryer.

I know there can't be order all the time and I repeat it to myself over and over every day. Sometimes, the mantra isn't enough. There's no amount of deep breathing or shoulder rolling or calming oils and I get in a funk and then I simply have a meltdown. And, that's when I feel like I am not doing enough and wonder what the heck we are doing.

We've been really busy lately and there's been little downtime. We took an unplanned "off" weekend and completed several projects around the house (closets, bedrooms, etc). That should have been enough to make me feel good about the rest of the mess for a little while but it didn't this time and I had a mini meltdown last night.

Today, I tried for a fresh start. The kids and I had a long talk about doing what they are asked and being respectful of one another and us (like cleaning up and helping out without arguments). Instead of killing myself on a run, Jackson and I took a relaxing hike at the Cove's newest trails. I took a nap. I made pumpkin muffins. We're getting ready to grill burgers for dinner. Karson cleaned legos off the floor and Jackson finished a project. Laundry is in process - we'll see what happens to the last load of the day.

Life is messy. That's hard for me sometimes. I've gotten better over the years (kids will do that for you) but sometimes I regress and lose perspective. Fortunately, I have a good support crew on the home front who help me with perspective when mine seems skewed.

I'm off to clean-up the Halloween buckets and finish prepping for dinner and our school/work week. And, I'll hope the laundry gets finished and if not then I'll re-wash tomorrow. ;)

I am blessed and so grateful for this beautiful mess.

Happy Thanksgiving friends.


Saturday, October 21, 2017

Cheers to 41!

In less than 48 hours, I will leave 40 behind for 41. Party on.

40 was a year similar to every other year of my life (and probably yours too). There was good and bad and laughter and tears. There were days when I thought I wouldn't make it to bed time and others where I hoped the day would never end. That's life.

Overall, I give 40 a thumbs up.

The kids are growing and both are so very funny and smart and kind. They have their moments (we should never spend any time in one hotel room together - ever) but we are certainly blessed. The hubs is healthy and still my biggest fan and I continue to love him more each day.

I have a renewed perspective and outlook on life. Maybe that comes with age.

The biggest thing during my year of 40 was that I left a job that I loved but realize now that it was not a good fit me anymore. It was very stressful and very toxic for me personally.

And, because of the stress, I did what every mom does - I stopped making myself a priority and did all the things for all the people and the job.

I know better now.

I love, love, love my new job and my new work family. I love connecting people and I love learning so much about our great little community. I have always loved Knoxville but these last few months have helped me fall in love with it all over again. I have met the most amazing people in just a few months and I can't wait for work each day.

I have to admit that I am in the worst shape that I've been in for 10 years including two pregnancies and post-pregnancy body.

BUT, that's over. I've been seeing Andy Baksa at Results Physiotherapy (he's a long-time friend and is not paying me to say this) and I have hope. I am optimistic. I've had injury after injury after injury. I've had back pain for months now. Because of Baksa, my back doesn't hurt and I am equipped with exercises to keep it strong AND to strengthen my hip to keep the bursitis under control.

Starting with 41, I'm getting back in shape. I don't know if that means running or lifting or yoga and I'll let my body decide but the extra weight is on its way out.

I've always hear that your 40's are the best years and I have to say, if 40 was an indication of what is to come then I am pumped.

See ya on the roads!


Monday, August 7, 2017

Reset Button

Today was the first day of school for Jackson. To me, the first day of school is a chance for a reset. That said, every day is a chance for a reset but the first day of school really brings the opportunity to update your routine and make changes.

It's no secret that this was not the summer of fun that we'd hoped for way back in May. It kicked off with an amazing vacation and was followed by a fun June but July really did a number on us. Starting with the first day of July, someone was sick for over three weeks. We weren't dying and things could always be worse but it was really unfortunate for all of us.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

I Can't Make This Stuff Up

We're in a place in life where you have to be ready for anything.

Like right now, I just realized that there is dried dog blood on my computer screen....

July has been crazy. Karson and Jason were both sick and then I was sick for several days. I felt better on Sunday and I climbed into bed knowing this was going to be an awesome week.

Then, the chiweenie climbed into bed and proceeded to throw up all over the sheets. This was awful but made worse because we'd just cleaned up Princess poop from the bedroom floor (she's old and can't control her bowels and poops all over the house day and night). Quick change later and we settled again with the knowledge that this was going to be a great week.

On Monday night, the chiweenie (Fritz) and the hound/heeler mix (George) were play fighting. They do this often. Fritz is roughly 7 pounds and George is probably 55-60 pounds. Fritz can hold his own pretty well when they fight so I wasn't really paying attention.

When we settled down, Jackson noted that something was wrong with Fritz' face. Either George's nail or tooth had torn Fritz' cheek leaving the skin hanging. I emailed a vet friend and she said to take him today as he would probably need antibiotics.

Friday, July 7, 2017

Putting It All Out There

I literally put it all out there yesterday. In person and online. Note: If you have a weak stomach then you might skip to the middle of the page...

As we were leaving the movie theater with Jackson's friends, Karson had been whining that his belly hurt. He's been sick all week and he was really tired so I was waiting on Altman to give me the keys so I could take him on to the car and give him a chance to nap.

I had him wrapped up in my sweater and was cuddling him while we waited. He gave the pump fake gag and then said he needed to throw up. I held him over the trash can and he spit. Before I could ask if there was more, he turned back to me and threw up all over both of us.

There were no amount of towels in the theater to help with any cleanup so we walked to the two blocks to the car. Once there, I used baby wipes to clean him off and changed his clothes. Luckily, we take a second set of clothes everywhere for him. Unfortunately, I don't do the same.

I ended up wrapped in a beach blanket over my jeans while Jason ran to Nothing Too Fancy to buy me a new shirt. Luckily, I had worn a sports bra under my tank so I wasn't totally inappropriate. Truthfully, I wouldn't have cared because the smell was so vile.

Friday, May 12, 2017

Thanks to My Boys on this Mother's Day Weekend

To my sweet Jackson and Karson,


As Mother’s Day approaches, I want to thank you. Mother's Day is as much about you as it is about me if not more.


The funny reality of this holiday is that your father buys the flowers and gifts and you little humans create a card or keepsake that you may or may not let me have. Karson, you are currently keeping my bracelet and watermelon plant. I hope you'll give them to me soon but if not, the bracelet looks great on you.


Mother’s Day builds a hype that as a mom, I should be pampered and able to rest and be showered with gifts and love on “my” day. The world is silly that way. Your father does an amazing job of making me feel special through the smallest of details every day. And, the two of you are learning from him so I feel good about the future and how you’ll treat me and your future spouses.


I have to admit that in our early days, I thought Mother’s Day would be different. My “Norman Rockwell” didn't match our reality. You didn’t let me sleep in, you didn’t cry less, you didn't whine less, you didn’t give me a break from getting your lunch and dinner and Mother’s Day was the same as any other day of the week. But, I have changed the picture in my mind and that has made a huge difference. This Sunday won't be much different from any another day but hopefully I get some extra snuggles from you...or at least less fighting.


Thinking of Sunday leads me to thanking you both.


To Jackson, you made me a mother. Who knew! The gal that never wanted kids changed her mind and was blessed with the most amazing little person.


And to Karson, you are my baby and my last child. Each moment of each day is a reminder - happy and sad - that there are moments I will never experience again as a mother.


To both of you….You have challenged me in ways that I could not imagine. You have taken me on the highest of highs and left me sobbing where I stood and in total sadness. Every day is an adventure and some days I wonder if I will survive it while others are so carefree that I wonder why I thought this was hard.


I want to thank you for reminding me everyday that I need to keep my chin up and to forge ahead. This isn’t a job that I can quit so we just keep going and pray for the best. I’ve always been one to take on any challenge but you’ve helped me see that I can always change my tactics and my perspective and I appreciate that so much.


I had a good life before you but it seems so much happier and fuller since you both arrived. I can't imagine what we'd do every day, night, and weekend without you.

Monday, April 3, 2017

My Heart is Full of Gratitude

I've been trying to read all of the social media posts and see all of the pictures from this weekend. There are so many!

Every year, 35-40 key volunteers work for months leading up to race weekend. Then, a week before the race, hundreds of volunteers stuff goody bags. Race weekend needs thousands of volunteers to be successful.

Sometimes the tasks aren't easy and certainly not glamorous but people show up anyway. Over the years, they've stood in the cold and rain and wind and sun and handed out water, biked the course over and over, placed medals around necks, built stanchions and then broke them down, and so many more things that you probably can't imagine.

It's amazing.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

When TV Makes You Think...

I am a huge fan of NBC's "This Is Us" that airs on Tuesday evenings. It's been a long time since I actually wanted to watch a TV show that isn't on HGTV but this is just one of those amazing shows that you can't wait to watch.

Like many of the episodes, last night had me weeping. Okay - sobbing. Sobbing so much that Altman asked me two or three times if I was okay.

I knew William was dead. I watched that episode too. I knew that they'd be celebrating his life on last night's episode. I knew I would cry.

William was a great character. He was human. He made mistakes but he did good things too. The mailman asked about William because he'd gotten to know him. William actually took time to talk to the mailman.

It's interesting. Last week, I was leaving State Street Garage downtown and when I asked the fellow taking my money if he was having a good day, he responded that he was having a great day. The person exiting in front of me remembered his name. Terry was thrilled that one of the hundreds of people leaving that garage every day remembered his name. Now I know his name and I hope to see him again soon. It's so simple yet such a powerful reinforcement on the importance of human interaction.

Back to William...

I loved the celebration of life. I loved that the children planned it. It wasn't stuffy or sad and they really tried to do the things he did every day.

If I left this world tomorrow, I'd love for everyone to throw on running shorts and go for a run. Make it a long one since distance running may never happen for me again (but I am still hopeful!). Hit the roads or a trail - I am a fan of both. Have an adult beverage. Sit in a hammock and read a book. Grab a Skinny Vanilla Latte. Volunteer your time. Remember someone's name and make their day.

Hopefully I won't leave this world tomorrow. If I'm still here then I plan to stop and talk to our mailman, or the UPS man, or the Fedex man since they frequent our home so often these days.

It's doesn't matter what prompts you but if you stop to think about what's important in life then I bet you'd find that many of the things that fill your schedule are just that - fillers. When was the last time you had meaningful interactions with those people in your every day life? Not just your spouse/significant other or children but do you really have meaningful interactions with them? Do you know the name of the person taking your money or card at the garage every day or the name of the barista at your favorite coffee shop?

Maybe if we stopped long enough for a simple "Hello, how are you?" every day then we'd find it easier to get along with one another.

See you on the roads and trails! K

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Marathon...All Year!

It's marathon season! I don't know why I say that because it's really always marathon season. Long ago, this event became a full-time gig and took on a life of its own. But it's funny because people have this idea that things come together in a few months and that once the race is over on Sunday then we take a two week vacation and relax. Far from it.

The first year of the race, Altman ran the marathon (his 1st) and I ran the 5K. We volunteered the next year and yes, we were able to get back to normal on Monday after the race but we'd been putting in several hours a week as the Training Run Captains since that previous November. We also volunteered many hours during race weekend since I was the Information Captain and Altman was the 5K Captain.

Then Altman was the Co-Race Director and we got our first taste of the full-on commitment of the event. Truthfully, the race wasn't even that big then but boy did we put in some hours. The following year, KTC hired Altman as the sole Race Director and we've been living and breathing this thing since.

Race prep for subsequent years starts before this year's event takes place. Dates for future years are already tentatively set and as decisions are made, we literally say "next year we will do this" and then hopefully write it down to remember it.

I don't really need to talk about March because anyone who knows us will know that March is wild and chaotic. We love it or we wouldn't continue to do it.

As the Executive Director, I still have to run KTC as an organization and maintain normal operations regardless of what is happening with the CHKM or any of the other programs. For instance, we will kick off the Knoxville Youth Runs season for most schools on March 27 - just days before the CHKM weekend. We'll have a new RunKNOX season starting in April and we have several large road races this spring as well as special events this fall that need to be planned.

Post-race is crazy. Altman works 50+ hours/week through mid-May and then winds things down enough so that we can take an early summer vacation. Upon our return, he hits the road with sponsor thank you gifts and writing the budget for the next year and the planning moves ahead at full steam.

It's been a pleasure to watch this event grow. We've seen participation increases and literally watched thousands of people enter that stadium and cross the finish line. We've seen the neighborhoods of Knoxville embrace this event and literally turn into miles of block parties. Thousands of people - not just locals - choose to volunteer for the many spots that are needed to make race weekend happen. The City of Knoxville has been fully invested and there are so many sponsors that put their faith and support in this event. It's remarkable. The journey is full and highs and lows. Literally each day presents a new benefit, opportunity, or problem and sometimes all at once.

I suspect that just like every other year, I will stand at the start line on April 1 and again on April 2 with great respect for my husband who does an amazing job of pulling the whole event together. Then I will shed a few tears when the National Anthem is played once it is over, I'll wipe them away and jump in to action. We'll send thousands of athletes across the start line and once they've crossed 11th Street then I'll head to Neyland Stadium to wait for them.

Hope to see you there....
Photo frames of the front pages of the special KNS Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon section.



Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Surviving Sick

We're in Day 5 of the Great Strep Outbreak of 2017. I was sick with sinus/allergy/cold for a week and I didn't sleep more than 3 hours any of those nights and when I finally started to feel better....BOOM! Jackson wakes up before 5 am on Friday literally shaking from fever.

It's Tuesday. He's not better. He's been to the doctor twice and we called again this morning because he has a cough so bad I'm afraid his ribs are going to crack. That's normal they say. Call us if it doesn't get better...

It hit Karson yesterday. We thought he was tired. We took him with us to doc just to be safe and yep, he has strep too. Both are on meds but both still have a fever and both are emotionally up and down and all over the place.

There's no doubt that this just sucks. Yes, they'll get better but right now, it just sucks.

This isn't a case when one of us can manage both kids because they both need so much help all the time right now. We're sneaking in work while they nap or just lie on the sofa  and I'm disinfecting everything in sight and cleaning when I can. I'm washing all the sheets and towels in scolding hot water. I've already bought new toothbrushes and I'll buy new pillows tomorrow (we need them anyway).

We're so tired that we alternated naps this morning and then alternated workouts.

I could have skipped the workout but I needed to release some frustration. I love my little family but this stint of illness is almost too much so I kicked my own behind to settle myself. I did a speed/cardio + core interval workout and finished with a mile of speed intervals. I'll probably pay for the hard work tomorrow but today, it was either run fast or cry in the shower.

We'll survive. Perhaps I'll go for a trail run tomorrow and hammer my way up the hill at Concord or maybe I'll go to yoga class so someone else can kick my behind. At this point, I'll do whatever it takes to survive the Great Strep Outbreak of 2017...

Friday, February 3, 2017

A Good Day at Work!

I posted on my Facebook page that my heart is happy and it is. I am always proud of our community but there are some days that are challenging and there are some times when I get bogged down in the "work" part that I forget about the fun stuff and the great support of the folks in our area.

For the month of January, I've been trying not to obnoxiously overwhelm everyone with requests to vote for KTC for a $5000 grant via the Moonshare Program. But, the requests have been there and I've been silently fretting that our sponsored posts and pleas wouldn't be enough to get the votes we needed to win. 

Yesterday, I found out that we were one of the top 12 groups meaning that at some point this year, we'll receive $5000 to use for our youth program.

I don't think it is a secret that KTC has struggled for a few years to build a youth program that reflects our organization and our mission and vision. We've tried a few things and they did okay but finding the best way to make a difference was very important. 

The idea for the Knoxville Youth Runs program was in development when I returned as the Interim ED. The program was launched in 2015 by volunteers and other than paying for the supplies, I didn't have a big hand in getting that site up and running.

Last spring after listening to our volunteer coaches describe the pilot program's success, we decided it was time to grow. I reached out to a friend at Great Schools Partnership to discuss how we could move into more schools. That meeting led to more meetings and we grew. Currently we are being emailed weekly with requests to grow more. Our volunteer program director has worked tirelessly to make sure that each site has what it needs and that we're doing a good job.

We don't charge for the program. These kids come from single parent homes or homes in which both parents work multiple jobs. These kids need the opportunity to participate without tryouts and cuts and to be given a chance to learn the basics of running and some basic life skills. Some of them don't even have shoes to run in. That hurts my heart and I'll personally buy shoes for these kiddos if need be.

I was involved in the launch of every program site last fall and I know that this is a good, solid program. I've seen some of these kids struggle to make one lap (200M for most of them) and I've seen them beam with joy when they can continuously run that same circle the next week.

Today is a good day at work. Today my heart is full knowing that I've got some funding to offset some of the cost of providing this program. And I owe this happiness to all of the people who took a few minutes every day to vote for KTC. I thank you and I know that our kids thank you!

If you'd like to donate directly to the program, please follow the link below. Every single dollar goes directly to providing program supplies, coach materials, t-shirts, medals, and incentive behaviors. 

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow

I'm a pretty happy gal most of the time. Sometimes, I just get worn down and worn out. I'm there right now and I'd like my normal self back.

We've established that I love my kids and my husband. I really do. With that said, everyone in our family functions so much better when we have a routine and when we aren't together every day for long periods of time with little (if any) break from one another. I'm pretty sure that between the boys, Altman, the three dogs, and the cat that I haven't had one full minute alone in weeks.

Yesterday was special. For the first time since December 22, both children went to school. They went late but they went. Unfortunately, I was out most of the day for meetings but it was a start. Today was similar. Morning meeting then home for lunch then afternoon meeting.

But tomorrow.....

I keep at least one day per week with zero meetings. "No Meeting Monday" is a staple for me. However, school was out on Monday so there may have been no meetings but there were also kids hovering around the house and it did not count.

So tomorrow.....

I have no meetings scheduled tomorrow and unless a tornado blows through here this afternoon or tonight or another crazy situation happens, I do believe that both of my kids will go to school and I will have my space back.

I can run, throw on yoga pants and a t-shirt, drink hot coffee and get all the work done. In my space. Without someone asking to watch YouTube or fighting over toys or asking for something. I can't stop the dogs from following me around but they don't speak so that's a plus for them.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow. Please be the day that I need!

Now, I'm off to pray that I didn't just jinx myself and ruin my perfect tomorrow. :)

See you on the roads and trails!


Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Taking Life Day by Day

I'm a planner. That's no surprise to most of you but if you don't know me well then you should know that I love a good to-do list, a thorough checklist, a defined schedule, and organization.

My life choices make it a real struggle for most of these things to happen consistently but I've learned to roll with it.

Kids never do what you want when you want and they are messy and hate organization. I'm great at my job because someone has to manage all the moving pieces and parts and you have to be organized to do that but there are a lot of days when my to-do list is on the back burner to take care of something pressing that's come up.

This Christmas break is for the birds. Why are my kids home this week? The Christmas magic has worn off and we all need a break. Although we love Karson, we were pretty pumped to send him back to pre-school today.

We had great plans. Altman would run outside and I would workout here while Jackson watched a video and then they would run errands and I would go to meetings and would get some work done in peace.

We followed that plan for about a minute. Karson cried in the car for Jackson so Altman took him along to drop K off at school. I stayed home and had the most amazing workout but came downstairs to find Jackson lying on the sofa with an ice pack on his knee and blood all over his leg. Turns out that he fell getting into Jason's car...on the metal part of a clipboard...with his kneecap. Gross, gross, gross.

I took a pic and sent to several friends and while Jason went out to run, I called the pediatrician. The nurse agreed that the doctor should probably take a look to be safe. All my parent friends agreed too.

So, I rearranged my schedule and moved my meetings. If the kid was getting stitches for the first time, this momma was going to be there. Jason ran one errand and met me at the doctor's office. We wanted to both be there in case the kid needed stitches.

At the mention of stitches, it was clear to all of us that we'd be better off if we just bandaged the wound and let it heal without them. I was grateful that the doc shifted gears because it would have been a traumatic experience for all of us to numb his knee and then have a doctor sew it up. Given that the wound is directly on the kneecap, the doc said that not stitching it up would just take a little longer to heal and would leave a scar.

Scars are fun. We all have them and have silly stories to tell about them. He'll be able to tell a silly story about falling on a clipboard.

All this to say that sometimes, you just gotta roll with things and take things as they come. 10 years ago, I would have been anxious and angry about having to rearrange my day. Now, it's just life and it's just another day that ends in "y" and you do what you have to do.

There's always tomorrow...unless it snows...


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