Skip to main content

What Matters?


Does it matter that you're way too busy or that a kindergartner wants (and is getting) an iPad for his birthday?  Not really.  Not when you consider other things, like working hard and getting out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself, truly working toward something at which you may or may not succeed.

Today is the NYC Marathon.  The weather conditions are perfect for running 26.2 miles, if ever that could be the case.  This glorious day and the accomplishments of the runners inspire me.  In 2009, I ran a half-marathon.  Crossing that finish line was within my reach: I had trained and was prepared for the distance, despite the balmy weather that May morning.  I've put off any thoughts - that creep back in from time to time - of running the full distance, the full marathon.

My son is playing on a Tier 1 ice hockey team for a second season and I'm always encouraging him to work hard and challenge himself out there.  The league is full of talented, "big" players with fantastic speed and deftness.  He's there, giving it a shot (no pun intended), and hopefully learning a thing or two.

I know I'm learning something from him: how to challenge myself, to take a giant, leg extending-step out of my comfort zone into something new, difficult and unchartered.  So, even though I'm way too busy, I'm going for it.

Let the training begin.

Comments

joy said…
Taking risks that will be rewarding are what matters! Good luck next year! I will be cheering you on!
November 6, 2011 at 6:02 PM
Anonymous said…
It is not enough to be the best that one can be, One must dare to be great! In that way if you fail 99 out of 100 times you build character,etc.,and that one other time: sublime!
January 2, 2012 at 8:13 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lost and Found

On vacation last week, my daughter was fully engrossed in her paperback.  She would take breaks from the dog-eared pages to cool off in the pool or swim in the waves, only to return to her lounge chair (and her book) with soggy, sandy fingers.  The book looked like it was on vacation too, with its crinkled pages sprinkled with sand. One night she brought the book with us to dinner, eager to finish the last 10 or so pages.  You see, there was a sequel waiting in the wings and she needed to get to ending.  After dinner and meandering through the hotel gift shop, my daughter realized she lost the book!  We retraced our steps but to no avail.  Finally, that evening, we stopped by the "lost and found" desk and reported her missing paperback (title and all) as well as my light cotton sweater she also left behind somewhere.  The kind lady said she would contact us if the items were found. My daughter asked if I would buy the book on my Kindle so that she ...
3 comments
Read more

The Honeysuckle

One of my sisters said I should “blog” more often.  I take that as a compliment, even if she is related to me.  So I decided to write about the Honeysuckle. Yes.  The Honeysuckle.  They are in bloom right now and if you pay close enough attention, soon enough, your nose will lead you to one.  When I was a kid, the summers were full of quiet time.  We didn’t go away to camp and barely went to day camp.   We played outside with whoever was home too.  We visited the town pool, with its icy, unheated water and biked home afterward. Right around this time, when the line between spring and summer starts to blur, I remember feeling like such a lucky girl.  My best friend, and across-the-street neighbor, had tons of Honeysuckle bushes lined up along her tall, wooden fence.  We spent hours picking the flowers and tasting the nectar found within the yellow and white stems.  It was dreamy. Just the other day I was playing golf with my mo...
2 comments
Read more

Author Access

For almost three years, I've been conducting an ONLINE book discussion for the organization, Gotham City Networking, Inc.  (www.gothamnetworking.com).  It all started with the book "Water For Elephants" and author Sara Gruen.  We didn't start out thinking that the author would be involved.  It was your basic book club meeting with a twist: our group would read the book and meet online to discuss the novel virtually .  It was all set. I decided to try to contact Sara Gruen's publicist or agent (by email), to see if Ms. Gruen would care to provide a comment or quote for my summary of the book, the few paragraphs I had planned to use to kick off the discussion.  Within 30 minutes, Sara Gruen herself emailed me back indicating that instead of providing merely a quote, she would happily participate in our online book discussion.  Wow!  Really?!  And she did. I was pleasantly surprised.  More than that, I was in awe.  Having Sara G...
4 comments
Read more