Well, I made it to Christmas and I still haven't done a single post on the 31 days of wishes this month.

I am going to repost something I wrote last year about Kelly as this wish is just as true today as it was over a year ago.

My wish is for everyone to treasure the gift of time we have each and every day and to spend it wisely.

Time passes, that is what makes our lives and time together with those we love precious.

Merry Christmas!

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Four years

Four years ago the phone rang, I hoped it wasn't work calling.
My daughter Laura told me happily that the Grubbs were on the phone.
It was the day after my birthday, I thought it was a belated birthday greetings.
The look on Laura's face told me otherwise, her face was ashen.  Something had happened.
I heard the unthinkable, the unspeakable
Kelly's cancer had returned, six weeks shy of being in remission  for five years.
My heart sank. I had seen Kelly in March, she looked so beautiful, so alive, so healthy.
I asked if I could talk with Kelly, I wanted to find some words, offer some hope. 
We talked briefly and then she told me politely she didn't feel much like talking.
Four years later, how I long to hear your voice and see your sweet smile again.

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Lights and Love 4 Laiken

Tuesday night I joined the Runners Edge of the Rockies for their annual Christmas Lights run from the Irish Snug here in Denver.

The run had special meaning for me this year as it coincided with a Christmas lighting ceremony in Chino Hills, California for a special young girl, Laiken Kenwood.

Laiken loved Christmas and Christmas lights. Laiken's Mom hosts this event in Laiken's memory each year and makes hot chocolate for everyone that comes to attend this event to honor Laiken's life.

Laiken passed away 2 1/2 years ago and much like Kelly she continues to be loved by all who knew her and have been touched by her life.

For me, I ran to honor the life of this sweet young girl, I stopped to enjoy the lights and love for Laiken that burns brightly in our hearts.

L&L x 13 x forever! 

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#Reverb10 One word prompt

I am participating in #reverb10 this December and today is the first prompt.  The prompt for today is to pick one word to describe 2010.

I have sifted back and forth across a couple of different words and for me, the one that is the most relevant to describe 2010 is transition.

–noun


1. movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change: the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

2. Music .

a. a passing from one key to another; modulation.

b. a brief modulation; a modulation used in passing.

c. a sudden, unprepared modulation.

3. a passage from one scene to another by sound effects, music, etc., as in a television program, theatrical production, or the like.

–verb (used without object)

4. to make a transition: He had difficulty transitioning from enlisted man to officer.

A sudden unprepared modulation occurred on June 3rd of this year, when the company I had worked for, for over 20 years eliminated my position and the position of my manager and my staff.

So begins a huge period of transition in my life and I have had difficulty transitioning from being part of the workforce to something else, something less.

Transistion from a state of working with the same people for 15 plus years, friends that I cried with when we began to lose parents or grandparents.  Being part of one anothers lives on a daily basis to a different state of being now.

I also became a mentor to a high school student, another passage, getting to know each other.

I transitioned back into my role as the board secretary for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society after completing a one year mandatory rolloff period.

I am transitioning back into my role as a distance runner as I began training for a marathon in Paris next year.

A passage from one scene to another when my daughter and her boyfriend of almost eight years parted.  The scene looks different now.

The word I hope that describes my year in 2011 is complete.

–adjective


1. having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole;

Complete with what my career transistion looks like. 
 
Complete with my heart work, forgiving whoever I need to so I can move on.  
 
Complete with my 19th Team in Training event.
 
Lacking nothing, seeking nothing, fixing nothing, being whole, being complete.

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