Get Shit Done

Sister Run No. 2!  Two miles, she is improving faster than I did.  I think I stuck to one mile runs for at least two weeks.  I talked the entire time and she ... was more tolerant of me.

I know everyone always says "my sister is the best/smartest" insert whichever extreme adjective you'd like, but mine is.  When my parents got divorced we moved into separate houses, and I think that's part of the reason she's my best friend.  She is literally too smart for her own good.  She is one of those kids who is 8th in her class, and knows 1-7 personally.  One time I helped her make a Pi day t-shirt which was a play on rational and irrational numbers and one of her favorite books.  I asked her if people at school liked it and understood the reference to the book and she said "The people who read the books loved it, and I didn't bother explaining it to the people who said they saw the movie."

She's always had the drive to do whatever it is she wanted to do.  When she was little and our parents got divorced she decided she wasn't going to study.  Her grades started slipping and I thought ... how do I get her to study?  Naturally, I decided to bribe her.  I told her for every straight A report card she brought home I would buy her a new purse.  Eight purses later she was going into junior high, and I was slowly going broke.  I promised her a cruise if she got higher grades then me or straight A's in every class in junior high.  Two years later, we had a wonderful eight day cruise of the Western Caribbean   We went snorkeling, clear bottom kayaking, swimming on a private island, and to a fancy dinner every night.  When we were swimming, she said to me.  "I think I'm always going to study so that I can get a good job and go on trips like this all the time.  My cousins who didn't study don't get to do things like this, and I want to."  I had never been so happy.  It was $1,500 well spent.

So today when we were running, we started talking about our lifestyles and how exciting it is once you finally realize you can make your life into whatever you want it to be.  I was surprised when she said to me "I know mom and dad aren't really active, they just sit around and watch TV.  I don't want that kind of lifestyle.  I want to become a runner this summer, so make me go with you."  I wish I would have figured out that I had the power to change my life when I was 17.

100 Miles Down 150 Miles To Go

Is Your Life Fun?

Sister Run!  Today I ran with my little sister (my best friend who didn't get to pick).  Before I talk about that, I want to talk about something that's been on my mind.  Last week when I met my college ex for dinner, he was going on and on about work and school and projects and such.  No mention of friends, bars, weekend plans ... and I realized he works all the time.  He was talking so much about work, that I interrupted him and said "Do you think your life is fun? Are you happy?" I admit it was a little blunt, but he looked at me like I had three eyes.  Why do people (myself included...) spend so much time on things that don't really make us happy.  It's crazy how caught up in life and priorities shift from fun and enjoying life to work and money.  I hope my life is never not fun.  I've recently learned ... that if I don't like things ... I can just change them.  Sounds so simple, but it's so easy to get distracted.

Mental Health Monday was one of the best ideas I've ever had.  I did everything that I wanted to do.  I slept in, read a book, went to lunch and dinner with a friend, I napped.  I love waking up and doing whatever I want and getting paid for it.

So my sister asked me to run with her, and I was so excited.  I've been trying to get her to run with me forever.  We only lasted one mile, and we ran a nine minute pace, and I'm pretty sure she'll never go with me again because I talked literally the entire time, but it was awesome.  Since my parents got divorced we haven't lived in the same house, but we still hang out every chance we get.  I'm currently in the process of convincing her to go to college at Indiana University (my school), so I can visit her there all the time.  She took a personality test that matched her to a university, and she had a 100% match to IU.  I almost drove off the road when I shot my hands into the air out of excitement when she told me.

So after one mile, my sister was dead tired  and I realized I can't run and talk so I was also dead tired.  And I decided that I will control my happiness from now on.  I'm going to spend more time doing the things I enjoy, like running and seeing my family.  I'm not going to do anything drastic, I'm just going to eat a piece of fruit instead of a bag of chips and I'm going to run outside at night instead of sit on my computer for a couple more hours.  (Despite what I am obviously doing right now ...)  I'm going to consciously make my life into what I want it to be.

88 Miles Down 192 Miles To Go