Happy Tuesday

 

Sunrise... well, a little after sunrise

Grounding myself in the present with a photo from my back deck.  

I binged on the Boston marathon yesterday.  Not just the live streaming, but in the afternoon, the Olympic channel was re-running the 2019 race.  I remembered watching the replay coverage of that race from my hotel room in Boston.  I remembered noticing the moment as the elite women rounded the corner at Kenmore Square the background of the McDonald's, where Kevin, Laura, and I were spectators.

Kevin was wearing a disposable, bright yellow poncho that day, as it had been rainy in the morning.  Here he is with Laura.  

We are a mile out from the finish line, planned carefully for our own needs and the weather, since he was in an air-boot and we did not want it to get wet, and we needed nearby access to restrooms, since standing through a marathon as a spectator is a four hour thing!  Kevin picked our spot... where the runners need a boost in morale.

He said, "at this point, they are feeling pretty beat up.  By the end of the block they will see the sign that tells them there is only a mile to the finish line and they will start to feel a whole lot better!"

The elite women come by after the wheel chair athletes, and before the men.  As the lead women rounded the corner, we saw the leader striding by, with her accompanying photographer on a motorcycle.  I snapped this photo at the time.

Yesterday, I was looking for that moment on the replay.  Alicia asked me for a screen shot, but it's hard to catch!  I took a snapshot of the TV screen... and in that bright area where the sunshine washes over the McDonalds sign, a bit behind the runner... you see a bright yellow poncho.  That's where we were standing.  If you click on the photo and it gets bigger, you might be able to see the red dots where I circled our group.

It was good to relive that memory, and now I can relive it with yes, sadness that he is no longer with us, but more of the joy that we had of sharing those times together.  

And life goes on

After that deep one yesterday, I was looking for a simple thing to be grateful for this morning.  I found it in the warmth, aroma, flavor of my morning brew.  I had put together a mug of the Amaretto.  

The heat kicked on in the morning chill.  It was a cool 44℉ morning.  

Next, I spotted the little boy across the street, so full of springs in the cool crisp day.  His dad and he were apparently looking for something... for school?  But what I was noticing is the energy in that little guy.  Dad gave him a kiss on the top of his head, buckled the son into the car's backseat, and then off they drove!

The pep talk

Life.  Amazing thing, isn't it?  Those could well become cherished memories for their future, the simple act of having a morning routine.  Cherish yourself and your family, your neighbors and friends.  Cherish the nature around you.  Cherish the things that make your life possible.  Cherish both routine and breaks from it.  Cherish the recovery process you may need following "binge" things like my memory trip yesterday.

Let's get out and live it today, best as we can, making choices to support our health, physical, mental, and spiritual.  Because each and every one of us is worth it, and this is the only Tuesday, October 12, 2021 we will ever get!  Life is good.  Spark on!

✨🎇💖🔥