Southernrunningmom's Blog

it doesn't matter where you start, but where you finish...

southernrunningmom — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:50:28 +0000

Reblogged from Southernrunningmom's Blog:

...LOVE that...heard it so eloquently put at my son's 8th grade graduation by Father Russo. Those words have stayed with me since and it's been 4 years. those words come in handy. when my children feel like they have fallen short, i remind them of those words.

yesterday, i reminded myself of those words. not to bore, but long story short - cruddy smoothie (note to self: always OMIT granulated sea kelp from normally sweet drinks:) followed by a run in scorching heat and humidity left me walking!

Mother’s Day rundown. quickly.

southernrunningmom — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:51:49 +0000

Let’s work backwards. Granddaddy still deathly ill. Still, Mother’s Day is here. We went to Mass yesterday, which was beautiful. We had crawfish for dinner last night out by the pool. Fabulous. My family was amazing today. I got a great text that brought tears to my eyes from my step-daughter. My step son gave me one of his signature hugs last night & wished me a happy Mother’s Day before he took off to be with his mom. My son has been here all day with the rest of us. Just wonderful. We spent most of the day lounging by the pool. Mother Nature visited me today. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. But my children & hubs swam and that was great. We had a great lunch downtown at Don’s. Hubs & daughter picked me a bouquet of flowers from our yard & placed them in my mom’s vase. She’s in Heaven, and I surely do miss her. My son gave me a Ninja-everything!!!! I can’t wait to use it! Juicer, processor, blender, dough mixer, etc.! He also gave me a Starbucks card. Yum!!! That will have it’s first use tomorrow morning, in the form of a Venti Black! My hubs & daughters gave me the Proform Tour de France bike!!!! I can’t wait to get that! I’ve been looking at it for over a year, a la the kid in “A Christmas Story” looking at his beloved bb gun…I can’t wait for that to get here. I’m pretty amazed at hubs & what he was able to do for me today, considering all that he is going through and dealing with AND working, I might add. Plus, I got a great dobache cake from Poupart’s. DIvine. mmmmmm.

I ran 10 miles yesterday. I was gonna do it on Friday, but halfway through, my daughter texted me, “Mom, my throat is burning.” I high-tailed it home & brought her to the doctor. Strep. Yep. ZPac, here we are. She’s terrorizing the cat; she’s sassy; I think she’s better.

So, that’s that. I’m full. I’m bloated. I’m not exercising today. I have energy. I’m washing clothes & cleaning. I’m wondering if my new housekeeper is gonna cut the muster. mmmmm, not looking promising. I just miss Lisa. sigh. She was the bomb. Like a big sister who knew me so well AND kept my house clean! The way I like!

Peace out, y’all. And the Lord’s peace, not just any peace. His peace rocks.

Stinging toes:)

southernrunningmom — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:13:25 +0000

Stinging toes
Make me feel alive
With each foot strike.
Burning ice
On just a few of them,
Half of them really,
Spread over both feet
Throb…
No matter what I do,
No matter how I lay,
No matter what I think.
Lightning blue energy
At the smallest part of my body
Welcomes
Mother’s Day
With a thankful, strong
Heart
❤

quick

southernrunningmom — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:26:47 +0000

As I stood at the top of the stairwell, packed hamper behind me, waiting to be washed, I was happy that I decided to raid my daughter’s Halloween candy (sadly, you read right), instead of taking another FREEZING dip in the pool. I popped the giant Lemon-Head into my mouth, began the descent, carefully, with said hamper, and was immediately reminded of the crisp fall evenings that we enjoyed where the light was bent just like it is now…softly hued, not even kissed with humidity. I’ve been working out hard – running hard. Cross-training hard. Living hard. By 9, I am WHOOPED. Ready to crash. We are, sadly, experiencing family difficulty – my father-in-law is not doing well at all – he’s only 79. It’s hard to rejoice completely in life when someone we love is in pain and probably looking at the end of his life.

I find myself even more introverted these days. It doesn’t really bother me; it’s just something that I notice. Just a phase of life, I tell myself.

My son, who made me a mother, turns 20 tomorrow. He just got his first role in a small production. He is as happy as he can be. He has a dry sense of humor – reminds me so much of his namesake, my dad.

Anywho, it’s all good. Lots of praying, lots of thinking, lots of thanking, not enough writing.

Peace, y’all.

happy heart

southernrunningmom — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:40:47 +0000

okay, so it’s been awhile. Divine Mercy Sunday was amazing. there are no words to adequately describe what a moving experience that day/event is…let me just say – receiving the indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday means going to Confession, which is just hard for most people. i mean, who wants to do this? but it is a beautiful Sacrament in our faith and is certainly not used enough. i’m a pretty transparent person, i think. in other words, what you see here on the blog is pretty much me. i think more curse words than i say. i speed at times. so, when i went into the confessional, knowing that, i think, anyway, my sins to be confessed weren’t THAT bad, i thought i was ready. i was overwhelmed and i was trying to read the Act of Contrition because i couldn’t remember it. i was crying. a lot. and it was the strangest sensation – i wasn’t crying because i was ashamed. i was crying because i truly, truly felt the presence of Jesus right there in the confessional with us. i can only describe it as saying i felt like i was near the “biggest” presence i had ever encountered in my life. it took my breath away. He was there, just like we are taught. The funny thing was, though, it was hard for me to explain this to the priest, who was surely waiting to hear some pretty bad sins, with all the crying i was doing!

all of our children were with us for Divine Mercy Sunday, except for our daughter in New Orleans.

the next day, i got up as usual at 5:40. i did what i do every school morning. after i dropped off my daughter at the bus stop, i was walking through my dining room, which was all dark. the only thing that had light was my gold cross that i have on my sideboard. it took my breath away. i will try to add a picture. i grabbed my camera because i was so blown away. it was just beautiful. a good friend suggested that the light was from Jesus thanking me for spending the day with him on Divine Mercy Sunday. I will take that. I check that cross everyday now and it hasn’t happened again. And I certainly never saw it happen before that!

okay, gotta run. i’ll see if i can upload a picture from my phone. peace!!!

As you can see, everything else around the cross is pretty dark. It was such a beautiful thing to see. There is a story about that cross – I will share that later, but I’ll just say that I bought it around Christmas several years ago – my son’s grandfather had just died – he was a very wonderful person and a great influence in my son’s life. Also, my step-children suffered the loss of 2 family friends – a father/son in a private plane they were flying – so, i bought this cross to put on my mantle that year – i guess I shared that story!

not ready to leave the desert

southernrunningmom — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:53:42 +0000

Easter Sunday. LOVED. felt like i had made a really good, really fulfilling Lent. not perfect, but really good. and i think it pleased God. that was what i was aiming for. if He’s happy with me, then what else is there? i went to bed feeling a little forlorn that it was over. i enjoy being in the desert with my Lord. i enjoy stretching my spirit, increasing my faith, looking for ways to please Him. i’m not ready to leave. so i’m not leaving. i’m going to keep my eyes on Him, press in and press on. whatever He wants, i want. wherever He leads me, i want to go. i can’t bear to watch the culmination of what my Lord did for me, and then just hop off the train and embrace being a sinner again…which i am; i get that, but i don’t have to think there is no other way, that this is just how i am. i don’t accept that. i will strive to make God happy with me, to secure a place in Heaven for myself, and hopefully, to live a good example for my family, because, after all, i can’t get them to Heaven, but i can show them a way by the way i live. it probably won’t mean much to them, anyway, for now, but one day, i hope it means a lot to them.

anywho. that’s that. i just can’t tear myself away from Jesus. i love Him.

speaking of, Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday. the depths of it go way too deep to capture here, but trust me when i tell you, it’s worth looking into and worth immersing yourself in. i know i just ended a sentence with a preposition. sigh.

i began my Divine Mercy Novena…i hope you check out what this day means.

alrighty, peace to each of you. my girls are on Easter break. gonna go do some fun things, i think!

Oh, God.

southernrunningmom — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 02:41:29 +0000

When I think about how much God loves me, it makes my entire being ache. When I think of what His Son, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, did for me, I almost can’t take it. I am so sorry for all my sins. I know I am forgiven, but I’m still sorry that I ever hurt Jesus with my actions and inactions.

This week, Holy Week, always brings me closer to Him, whom I love so. There are so many opportunities coming up in Church to honor Jesus…

One quick thought :)

southernrunningmom — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:14:31 +0000

I was just making two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, thinking of how our lives have changed since our three older kids have graduated and are, mostly, out of the house. I thought about my own son, being on spring break this week, and coming home today. I can’t wait. I just want to see him. I just want to give him a hug and be with him. I don’t want anything from him except his time. I want to hear what is going on in his world. Then, I realized – that is just what God wants from each of us. We have nothing to give Him; He has everything. He MADE everything. But he wants US to be with HIM – to give Him our time, to tell Him what is going on in our world. We are lucky to be loved by God, who is so generous, loving, forgiving…

Race report!!

southernrunningmom — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:47:39 +0000

Opelousas Duathlon – it was yesterday morning – my you-know-what started Saturday. My daughter said it seemed like my races were cursed that way. Sigh.

Anywho. This was the second race I had done in which I had to pass by a dead body. Yes, sadly, you read correctly. First time was a half marathon with some off-road mileage – I wondered why the course changed last minute. I thought the cops were all there for us. I digress. Yesterday morning I saw the abundance of emergency vehicles. And yes, there was the pedestrian/victim who had gotten hit from behind. I said prayers for all involved. Sad.

So, the race. There was a wind warning for the morning for the area. Seriously? During a bike race? Well, the race was a 2 mile run, 16 mile bike, followed by a 2 mile run. I didn’t have any timing capabilities on me – couldn’t find my Garmin and when I saw the wind advisory, I re-thought of the race as a great workout, nothing more, which worked out great. I ran hard & did my first mile in 7:57! My next one was 8:28. Then I jumped on my bike. My splits ranged from under 3:00 per mile to 4:30′ish per mile. I finished in 1:01, a very respectable time in 14-20 mile per winds. Then the next run, I did in 8:50 & 9:10. I really wanted to shout out that it was the second day of my you-know-what!! I didn’t, of course. It was a great day, and transitions included, I finished in1:33, first in my age group!!! I was shooting for 1:30 in the best of conditions, so I was stoked about that.

The funny thing was, when my alarm went off that morning at 5:30, I briefly considered not doing the race! I was bloated; I was tired…

My daughters wished me well before they went to sleep on Saturday night and that’s what went through my head. No way was I turning slacker!!!

It’s a lot easier taking a rest day when I placed in my age group!!! I feel like I earned it.

Anywho, this is Holy Week!!!

Peace.

Feeling the need

southernrunningmom — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:49:57 +0000

Are we obliged to carry on relationships with people simply because we possess the same blood? I have thought, fought & prayed over this a lot. My answer is always a solid “no”.

I’m just stating the facts. I “stalk” him on FB to see that he is alive, to see the state of his mind, to see him. He’s my brother. I love him. I miss him. I guess I miss the way he used to be. But maybe he wasn’t so different even back then. Maybe I was just naive to his problems. Either way, I miss the light in his face, the unabashed love he had for life, the way he threw caution out the dang window…he taught me to drive a 5-speed in 5 o’clock traffic & then how to shoot whiskey, all in the same evening and in that order!

But now, he’s not that person. He said things to suit the moment. Only to suit the moment. Lies, I guess. Sigh. I just couldn’t take anymore. It was offensive, the bullshit he concocted.

And one day I realized, if a stranger was telling me this, I would walk away. But he wasn’t a stranger. He’s my brother. I’m not very proud of him anymore. But I do realize ad believe he will go straight to Heaven, when his time here is complete.

And I do hope he knows how much, how very much, I love and adore him.