In Check

God always has a way of keeping our egos in check. This morning I went running down at one of my favorite spots down the road from here, and it was such a perfect morning for a run. The sun was out but it wasn't too hot yet, and there was a nice breeze as well. I had run all but about the last quarter mile, and I was thinking here I was running on my day off, feeling good, thinking that I've come a long way since I started doing this regularly almost nine months ago. Then all of a sudden, some young tan girl in a Brandy Chasteen running bra comes running out of Lakefront Marina looking absolutely stunning and running with the greatest of ease. As I was running behind her I just laughed to myself, noting that there's always room for improvement.

In other news, with persistence, God also allows for things that start off rocky to turn out Great. That's what happened yesterday. My Sister was in town for basically only one full day and we were hoping to go waverunning. Unfortunately, everyone and their brother had the same idea around here. We had a heck of a time just getting them around to the beach to fuel them because they were on empty and kept cutting out before we could even get them to the jetty (is it jetty or jeddy? hmmm). Then there were so many people at the beach that we didn't feel comfortable fueling them around all those people, so poor Mark basically had to trek through thick foliage (hopefully not poison ivy-infected) to get around to a more secluded spot for fueling. Once we finally got them fueled, the waves kicked up so it was a bit of a bumpy day for riding, but we ended up having an absolute ball! Then we came back up to the condo and cooked brats and beans and corn on the cob and snacked on veggies and cheese and talked and laughed with the folks too. They even got on the waverunners and rode for a while - I was so proud that they did that, even though it was a bit rough out there. It ended up being just a wonderful and memorable day - a hard one to top!

Hot, Hot Hot

Whew - Summer is back with a vengeance. These last few days have been muggy and hot, and we've taken refuge in the cool condo. The dog, poor little black critter that he is, is out and in in a moment as the heat is way too much for him as well. Our neighbor Joan had a fish fry last evening - walleye bites, and they were awesome. We sat around and ate and drank some refreshing Sangria and enjoyed the occasional breezes as they would blow through. Now it is Sunday afternoon again, and I've got that ambivalent feeling I always get as the weekend winds down, wanting to savor every moment of what's left of the weekend and mentally preparing myself for another busy work week. Maybe I'll head out and take a dip in the lake because before we know it, it will be sweater season again.

Oh, and I finally downloaded the picture from when my Uncle Frank (my Mom's little Brother) and my Cousin Missy came through on their way to moving her down to Virginia. She is starting an exciting job at James Madison University tomorrow. She's going to be teaching a history class and getting her Master's Degree there as well - too cool - we're So Proud! We had such a nice time the other day - hadn't seen them in at least five or six years - Uncle Frank lives in North Dakota. It's amazing how time gets away from us, but with family and close friends, it's like we've never been apart!

What a Weekend

This weekend was our FTX (field exercise) at Camp Perry. Each year we spend three days in the field playing war games and honing our skills. It's always a trip - we have chemical attacks, aggressors trying to access our camp, and all sorts of other fun stuff. Well this year, we had our Detachment, a brand new group of Red Horse Personnel from Mansfield, join us. Normally it's hotter than heck and miserable as all get out, but this year, the weather was just perfect. Other than the downpour we experienced on Saturday night, you couldn't ask for anything better. OK, maybe one thing could have been better. If you're going to have over three hundred people playing war games, you might want to locate the porta potties a bit farther away from the dining tent. Needless to say, after three days, even with good weather, when you stood in line for your meals, you always had the pleasant aroma of porta potty wafting through your nasal passages. Maybe this is the Air National Guard's way of helping us to control food portions and stay within fitness standards . . . it sure worked for me!

It's Me or The Dog

Victoria Stillwell is coming to America and they are asking for applications on Animal Planet. Hmmm - I want to, but have you ever seen the show? She's pretty blunt about how it's usually the humans who are screwing up, not the dogs. Noah is so smart that I'm guessing I'm the one who is enabling him to be agressive by my actions or lack thereof. I'm sure they'll have tons and tons of applications but I think I'm going to send one in too, just for tickles, and see what happens. You never know . . . .

Renewal

I don't talk too much on this blog about religious or spiritual stuff because - well, I'm not really sure why, but I guess I just don't. Is it because those who may actually stumble upon it might think that I'm "weird" or a "religious nut" or a "freak" or something? Hmmm, I never really thought about it all too deeply but in this society of political correctness, I guess I've just conditioned myself to keep it nice and light. Another Hmmm, because life is for sure not always nice and light. As a matter of fact, those things that often prompt me to actually put things in words are the very things which I edit out of much of my posts. Very strange indeed -it's like even on cyberspace I want to present a better me - me without all the bitching and moaning (which I do believe I try to keep to a minimum). But I have truly digressed so far away from what I actually wanted to post this evening.

This is going to be a post about a spiritual moment I had tonight - religious if you will, although I believe religion is getting a bad name right now, especially congregated religion. I'm not entirely sure that some of the bad press concerning this isn't without warrant. People have, throughout the centuries, performed many heinous acts in the name of religion. But again I'm wandering so far away from the subject of my post.

In all the time I've been dating Mark (which is quite a long time - several years in fact) we've always walked the beach and he's been exceptional at finding "lucky stones". I know I will probably botch what exactly a lucky stone is, but I'm afraid to clarify with him at this point because it will once again prove that I'm not always paying complete attention to his stories. My explanation (again, probably very flawed) is that lucky stones are cheek bones from fish - I want to say walleye or perch - that wash upon the shore. They have a signature "L" groove in them, which I'm guessing stands for "lucky". So, on with my story. For the past 7 years or so, each time we go walking, or I even go walking by myself on the beach, I have never, never never found one. Not even close - never ever. Mark seems to find one at least every few trips to the beach. Now mind you, he's had an eye for these "lucky stones" since he was very small and I have only relatively recently been hunting them myself. Oh - I explain way too much - but anyway - tonight I walked down to the beach with the dog - all by myself, and I was talking to God and said, I'd really, really like to find a lucky stone tonight (now I've said this to Mark and to others and to myself before but it never has happened in all this time). I swear to God (no pun intended) that five seconds after I said that, I found the biggest lucky stone I've ever seen - right there on the beach, and right next to the picnic table I was going to sit down on. It was SO obvious - God said "You asked, and I was listening" -it was the neatest thing I've experienced in a long long time. I absolutely knew that this was no coincidence. It was an affirmation that God is here, that he's listening in the present, that it's just as easy to believe in all the good possibilities as it is to be bogged down by all the sins of the world. Maybe I just need to spend more time talking and listening and seeing what God has to show me and spend less time on pitying "poor me" for some of the things that life deals. Life isn't fair - we are to go through this life being the best that we can be and our true reward will be when we meet God face to face in heaven. The best thing we can be in this life is a good example of God's love and that will help us through the rough spots and help us to appreciate the good spots - and there are many many good spots - spots such as tonight where a small white "stone" with a grooved "L" helped me again to renew my faith in the One above . . . .

Ups and Downs

The last day of vacation. It had its bumps - we ended up going to two funerals - one for a dear friend and former boss and one for a dear friend's Mom. They were both somewhat expected yet they came too fast, and the finality of it always weighs so heavy on your heart even as you know they are in a far better place.

There were also some very nice high points in this workless week. I've always been a night person and being able to stay up late and sleep in each morning made this vacation worthwhile even if we hadn't done anything else. I guess some people might think we didn't do much of anything else this week, but we truly enjoyed the peace and quiet and calm of not "having" to do anything. We went shopping. Mark cooked excellent food and I even made some seafood pasta salad - thanks for the recipe Miss Shelly - it ROCKED! We also got the waverunners out and are hoping to run them in the evenings after work and on weekends for the rest of the summer when we don't have drill.

Today we are meeting the folks at Cleats (the old Nate's Restaurant here in Port Clinton). If they aren't too busy that's where we'll be having an early dinner this evening. It'll be great to see them because it's been a few weeks.

Time to go walk the dog - he's got a "gentle leader" which he hates, but it's supposed to keep him from jumping and lunging at poor suspecting folks. He's managed to get it off from around his muzzle a few times now, but I think he's getting more used to it. He's definitely used to the treats I've been giving him as I encourage him that yes this is a good thing - don't think either of us are convinced of that - hehe.

Red White and Blue

Happy belated 4th of July - what a weekend! This really is one of my favorite holidays, although I love any holiday where work is not included. Plus, it's vacation week - woo woo. We're staying home I think, maybe a day trip or two, but it's so nice not to be at work . . . .