Long last day of September

Today started at 4 am in CO. I arrived at my hotel in Berkeley at 7:30 pm.

I experienced classic SF weather today. Sun, fog, fog so thick I couldn't see the top of the golden gate, sun at the other end of the golden gate, fog rolling so fast over the hills and heat and sun down in Marin.

Good visits and good interviews.

An early arrival into SFO and time for a Peet's pumpkin spice latte.

It's time to collapse and start over again tomorrow without the 4 am wake up call.

Today was one of those days

When it's hard to find much of anything to be grateful for and yet there are some standout things and for those I am ESPECIALLY grateful.

• Starting the day with a run with Sydney.  It was crisp, but not cold.
• A lunchtime discussion with colleagues that I know and respect and rarely see.
• A conversation with a peer in class tonight that made me realize that I am not alone in my thoughts about this particular class.  And it also reaffirmed for me that it's okay that I have a specific focus and I should stick to that.

Today felt like Monday

But it wasn't.  That was yesterday.  Must be because today was my first day back in the office.  Travel is harder and harder for me.  I can't keep my days straight and I don't sleep very well in hotels anymore.  And I don't seem to have time to exercise.

So today:

• I was grateful to get in a run, even if it was ugly and I botched the intervals.  It was still 6 quality miles more than I did between Friday and Monday.
• That the Bethesda Marriott found my left-behind power cord and they are mailing it to me.  This is the second time this fall I've left something in a hotel - I never do that.  
• A cup of coffee and conversation with Mike who is headed to East Africa tomorrow for a little personal reflection and soul searching.  I wouldn't have been as brave as he, even at his age, but I admire his choice and hope that he finds peace and wisdom.

• Today I am most grateful to be home.
• And for my Sydney.  Nothing feels better than coming home from a trip to the I-can't-sit-still-or-stay-in-one-place-welcome she gives me.
• That I think Sydney has another dog sitter who she'll call her favorite.  And I think the feeling was mutual.
• A good class tonight.

It's a good day of interviews when the first one is the best and the last of 8 is good. Makes what could be a long day feel less so.

Nearly all the kids were early today which meant I made it back ti the urchins house for dinner AND bedtime stories. I thought I'd be lucky to make it back for stories.

Finally, today I am grateful that this trip only included one night of hotel stay.

Being woken up at 6:20 by one little urchin who wanted to show me the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling and then snuggled for an hour.

Reading books on the back deck in our pj's, me and the urchins.

A really great alumni volunteer and a few more interesting students.

Playing on the iPad with Tristan

Reading stories snuggled in between tristan and Katie.

So today I'm grateful my job sends me out east for some unconditional urchin loving and the chance to meet some cool kids too.

Sitting in between Katie and Tristan at dinner.

Hearing. "Aunt Jess, I really love you." from Tristan in person.

Reading with Katie-bug before bed.

Oh and that nonstop flight from COS to IAD is pretty sweet.

• My plan was to drop a card off for Maddy at CRC since I wouldn't see her, nor would I be in town for the Bon Voyage party as she sets off on a grand adventure.  As I was driving to the store at the end of my lunch break who should be in the parking lot but Maddy herself.  So I'm grateful that the universe knew I wanted to give her a hug and a card to wish her well on her European adventure.
• Rain
• Sydney's unconditional love.

• The CC student who frequently walks past my open window playing his ukelele.  It ALWAYS makes me smile.
• The fact that the group of really fast runners I run with aren't really training for anything right now so they took it easy, which meant they were close enough to me to push me to run harder today.
• A beautiful morning sunrise.
• Happy Birthday, dad!

Today I am grateful that the day is finally over.  It started at 5 am so that both Sydney and I could get some exercise.  It ends at 10 pm after Open House and 4 hours of class.

I'm grateful for Wendy who comes over to give my Syd a break on long Mondays.

And I'm really grateful to Sydney for her unconditional love, tail wagging, dog kisses and eternal optimism even after a long day.

• A beautiful fall day with a run up Gold Camp road, including the discovery of not just one tunnel, but two, turning aspen and a solid 12 1/4 miles.  
• a bounty of vegetables that turned into chocolate zucchini bread and ratatouille.  

So many little things to notice and to be grateful for...

• A "nearly knocked me over hug" in the grocery from my friend Jillian.  Hard not to know you are loved, right?!
• An early evening hike in Red Rock Canyon on the Contemplative trail, with Sydney, of course.  This was for her.
• Running into a friend I haven't seen in a few months.

Gratitude day 3...

• That I will spend MLK weekend in January with two of my very best friends!  Best news a girl could get on a Friday!
• Red wine, and girlfriends.
• A dog whose tail wags every time I come home.

Grateful today...

• For my friend Kaija, who is wise, kind, supportive and insightful.  So glad you will be in CO for a couple of months.
• For deciding to do the track workout this morning.  Sometimes it feels good to hurt.
• Oh, and oatmeal with peanut butter, pumpkin butter and cinnamon!

Daily Gratitude

In an effort to refocus my energy, I'm going to try to note at least one thing that makes me grateful each day until the end of the month.  This will be a reminder to myself that what I'm doing counts and that within each and every day there is goodness.

So today, I'm grateful for the wisdom I had to call it quits last night after a crummy run and an inability to focus on my reading.  I went to bed early and set my alarm for 5 to finish my reading and exercise in some way.  I got up feeling rested, at 5:05.  Finished my reading and took Syd for a 30 minute walk.  While the daytime temps didn't feel like fall, our morning walk did.

And so it begins again

15 years.  That's a long time.  That's how many years I've been at CC.  I'm not really old enough to have had a job this long, right?  I guess I am since this year also marks the beginning of a new decade.  Hard to believe I was only halfway through the first decade of adulthood when I started at CC.  It's been quite a run.

This travel season which begins on Thursday, may be the earliest in September I've ever gotten on a plane.  It's going to be even more frenetic than usual since I'm trying to balance class on Monday and Wednesday nights, as well as that full time plus job and traveling to DC, SF and HI.  Several short trips to avoid missing class early in the semester and two longer trips in late October and November  that can't be helped, but will mean only missing one of each class.  As I've mapped everything on the calendar I know there will be crunch points, but it seems feasible.  For now.  Ask me again in October.  Or not, you may not want the answer.  Neither may I.

As for running, well, I'm just hoping to run when I can.  Today was likely my second to last long run before the Denver Half on October 17.  Little far out, you might say?  Well yes, but that's just the way it's gonna have to be.  I'll be traveling and interviewing on the weekends and so I'm not sure there will be a two-hour window.  With on exception when I am in town on September 19.  That's a month out.   One more good long run.  And so the plan is to run when I can.  I have new tunes from Kat which will help with some treadmill runs.  This run isn't about time anyway.  It's about doing something bigger than me.  It's not about me at all, really.  So just finishing is good.   It's what I owe my generous friends, colleagues and family for their incredible generosity to me and to LLS!

The nights have been cool here - a sure sign that fall is on the way.  The mornings brisk.  I'm okay with that so long as the days are still warm.  I'm not ready for the cold.  And I'm not loving the dark.  I went for a run, uncharacteristically, after class on Wednesday night.  Syd and I left the house about 7:30 pm and by the time we got home 40 minutes later it was well past dusk.  I was running the sidewalks by memory, trying to remember where the buckles were so I wouldn't trip.  And the mornings, it's just getting light at 6 am.  The alarm went off today, I let Syd out and crawled back under the covers for another 10 minutes until the sky lightened up.

So not ready.

But it is inevitable.

The changing of the season.

Maybe that's what I need though.  A shift in season might bring the shift in energy that I am seeking.  I can hope anyway.