Without A Cause

I feel a little unsettled. I absolutely have no causes or rants right now. Shocking for some to believe. People will be people and I accept that. I don't accept that people should just sit around and not do anything to improve something about themselves. When i sat down to start writing this a few minutes ago I thought I didn't have a cause or anything worthwhile to write about. I think there's an idea rattling around in my head. I added this picture of Chris. When we take these kinds of pictures in our family we call them "the money shot" because if we were professional photographers photographs like these would bring in the cash. What else could this picture say?

Christian is a fairly decent little runner. He's not the very best but he can hold his own and he enjoys running. He made it to the Idaho State Cross-Country tournament. I look at this photograph and I know that four days a week during the summer these kids got up and ran on their own at 8:00 am. I know that he has run better this year than last year. When he came across that finish line it meant much more to him than he'll ever express to me. Oh of course we all hear stories of personal perseverance all the time but when is the last time as an adult to acknowledge that you've made it through another hurdle. We only seem to rub our brow and say, "oh thank God I made it through that," when we face tragedies or 'adult' things. What about the 'kid' things?

We look at our own personal accomplishments as the expected. Our families expect this or that from us, but what do you expect from yourself? I can only speak for myself. I find, especially since I have kids, that so much of my identity revolves around them. I hadn't noticed how I do manage to bring balance to my life and identity though until now. I do let my focus linger around my kids and their accomplishments. I try not to steal their thunder when they accomplish goals and dreams. I have my own personal accomplishments and even my 'kid' victories. There is no denying that when I walk into the laundry room after way too many hours of washing clothes and I say to myself, oh man I managed to get ALL of the laundry done today, it is a victory. I hit that finish line like Christian did and know that a task that was important to me was completed. It seems small but it means so much to me to get the laundry done.

What am I attempting to say here? I want to say that we should all be more cognizant of our little day to day victories that are unseen by others and even the ones that are but we don't talk them up like the BIG adult victories. We do so much for each other within families and as friends or communities. Don't lose your focus. There are so many people out there that are walking around without focus or beating themselves up because they feel like their lives have no value at all. It's towards these people that I feel so much sorrow. Life is short--even for the young (Nita reference). Be thankful for your small childlike accomplishments and stop being so much of an adult every now and then. Live to the fullest, it's really worth it.