Chills & sweats

This morning I experienced chills and sweats. No, I'm not sick. I was volunteering at a 5K race. Ann came along, and we had to be there at 5:45 a.m.

The chills came into play because we've finally gotten to the point that our evenings and early mornings here are (sometimes) cool. This morning it was in the high 50s, and for an Arizona girl, that's cold, especially since I was wearing sandals and the grass was dewy!

Once the sun came up, I quickly went from four layers on top (sports bra, tank top, light jacket, and race shirt) to two layers (sports bra, race shirt.) And by the time we were finishing up at 10:30 or so, it was downright warm outside, warm enough that when I got home I really needed a shower.

Volunteering at a race was a great experience. It gave me so much more appreciation for what goes into the races I've run (all of which were staffed by volunteers!) This was a smaller race, so we got to do lots of different jobs.

We assembled big flags. We helped set up the registration tent. I climbed scaffolding to put banners on the start/finish chute. (That part was fun!) We stood on the race course to direct runners. And we helped tear down afterward.

We didn't get paid, but we did get swag bags (with some nifty free stuff), food samples, bagels and coffee for breakfast, and raffle tickets. (Ann won a book!) We also got tech tees that are really nice considering it was a 5K event. And more than that, I realized how important race volunteers are, and I know I want to volunteer at future races. It seems that if I'm going to be part of the running community, it's a good idea to help that community "run" smoothly!

Today I volunteered because my troublesome leg isn't yet ready to run a 5K again; in the future, I'll volunteer because I know it's not only a good thing to do--it's also kind of fun.

Even with the chills and the sweats.

Ann and me at the finish line. Hey, we may not have run the race, but honestly, we worked harder than a lot of the runners!

Phone Photos

A few recent photos from my phone, and my comments about them...

We live near an area where there was recently a huge wildfire. It was bizarre to see this line on the horizon between smoke and blue sky. I think it was the next day that the wind died down and the smoke really settled in, and the whole city was hazy (and smelly) for a couple of days. One (smaller) fire was near us. Friends in a neighborhood 3/4 of a mile from us were evacuated. Yesterday I finally unpacked my evacuation suitcase that I'd packed just in case. Thankfully we didn't have to use it, and most of the fires are out now.

This ad popped up on my Kindle. A show all about revenge is not my cup of tea. It kind of makes me mad, to be honest. Seems like it just caters to baser instincts we should all be wanting to overcome instead of nurture.

I found my first gray hair. So far the only one....

The hubs and I went out for my birthday. And discovered that in a dim restaurant, the flash on my phone is really bright. (And by the way, I was wearing clothes. My dress was sleeveless, and in all the pics I took of myself, my dress was out of the shot. I look a lot more...adventurous...than I really am.)

My new running shoes! No, seriously--these are Bedrock Sandals, and they're one of the many varieties of running sandals now on the market. Right now I'm still primarily walking, but with the short bursts of running I have been doing, these feel great!

We found a dead tarantula when I was walking home with Zoodle recently, after dropping off Chickie at school. Chickie is my little biologist and has a fascination with tarantulas. I used two leaves to pick it up and put it in the cargo area under the stroller. Then at home I used tweezers to pick it up and put it in a Ziploc, where Chickie could (and did) study it to her heart's content after school.

I got Zoodle to ride his tricycle on the way to and from school this morning. I realized that he's not quite as skilled at pedaling and steering as I'd thought! But by the time we were getting close to home again, he'd really improved his skills. (I do however, think we'll do more at-home practice before we try any more of those long treks to school on the trike!)

A story of friendship

A little over two years ago, I headed to church one evening for a women's Bible study. I don't remember what topics we were discussing that night, but something prompted me to open up to the women around me.

"I have a hard time being vulnerable enough to make the types of close friendships that I really want," I admitted, crying. "I want to start being vulnerable."

Opening oneself up to friendship can be hard. There's a lot of risk involved! I had a lot of friends, but I didn't have a best friend, and I wanted one. Yes, my husband is my best friend, but I'm talking about the type of friendship that a woman can offer! I wanted someone I'd automatically turn to when I needed a girlfriend to talk to--and I didn't have that in my life.

Afterward, a couple of the women came and talked to me. We said we wanted to be closer. One of those women was Ann.

Ann and I had been friends for a couple of years already. In fact, I'd felt that she was offering me deeper friendship. But I wasn't sure--we were so different! You've read about the ways that we treat books differently. It wasn't just that, though. Ann is German, and she tells it like it is. One day I told her, "You wear your heart on your sleeve!" and then had to explain the expression to her. She agreed that it fits her perfectly! You know where you stand with Ann, good or bad! I, on the other hand, can be overly concerned with how my actions affect others--so much that I try to avoid conflicts, even necessary ones.

But that night, something opened up in me, and something opened up in Ann too. Since then, we've built a friendship that has blessed my life more than I ever expected. I learn from Ann's honesty. I think she learns from my sensitivity too! We discuss parenting, and faith, and so many other things...and while we don't always agree, we sharpen each other like iron.

Recently Ann returned from a trip to the East coast. She'd visited New York City, and came back with an "I (heart) NY" shirt for me. "I figured you hadn't gotten one of these when you were in New York a couple of years ago," she told me with a laugh.

Well, I had gotten one, but I didn't want to make her feel bad, so I just laughed too, and thanked her.

Later, I realized, Ann would have just 'fessed up and told me the truth...and she'd want me to tell her too! So I sent her an email confessing that, thanks to her, I now have two "I (heart) NY" shirts. She thought the whole thing was funny, and so did I. More importantly, it was such a relief knowing that I could be honest with her, even with something so silly.

That's the type of friendship that I needed--an honest friendship with someone who stretches me in good ways. Having gone without it for so long, I have enormous appreciation for it now.

Recently we made it official and started using the "best friends" term. It's been an important way for us to to tell each other how special our friendship is. Does it mean neither of us will ever have another friend who's just as close? Of course not! I think one of the great things about our relationship is that we're each learning more about how to be a good friend. I hope that what we're discovering will help us develop other beautiful relationships as time passes, even as we continue to grow our own friendship.

And it all started with vulnerability. It started with me being willing to admit a weakness that was robbing me of what I needed. It started with Ann being willing to respond, offering her friendship--and accepting mine.

It was a risk. But most worthwhile things are. And I'm glad it's a risk we both took.

I love you, Ann! Thank you for being such a wonderfully devoted best friend!

Edited to add: Turns out Ann had a post saved in her Drafts folder that went right along with this one. She posted it today. It made me cry...in a good way! Here is her post: Click here.