Day Thirty Closes the Book; 36 Still Reading

Yesterday wasn't a fluke. Today I ran two miles again. I kept finding other things to do this morning in order to put off the "two mile test." I didn't go out to run until 1:00 pm. which wasn't the wisest time to run. Yes, it was hot. Yes, the sun was truly blazing down. Yes, my pace was slow. And yes, I ran the two miles. Was I certain I would do it? Not until I had returned and was walking in my back door. But now I am confident that I can indeed run two miles without stopping. Yay me!!

Once I had recovered, I worked in my yard. I pulled weeds, arranged a brick border in the back, and tied up unruly rose bushes on little trellises. I am not a gardener and do not aspire to be one. But I like the way the flowers look in my backyard, so I have to do a bit of maintenance.

Unfortunately, the hanging basket on my front porch has a dying petunia plant in it. What I thought was enough water was clearly not. I also got rid of a nasty vine-type plant that was threatening to grow all over my sun room. I didn't know what to do with it and didn't like it anyway, so I decided it was evil and tossed it. As for the aforementioned rose bushes, I don't know what kind they are, since my landscape guy didn't pick them out (Home Depot and I did). Needless to say, I chose the rose delinquent kind, as they are growing all over the place, and putting out few roses and lots of thorns.

Today my gardening and running efforts shared my day. What do they have in common? Both require my preparation and maintenance if I am to enjoy a positive outcome. Both take time, and can be unpleasant if done at the wrong time of day. I make mistakes with both activities, and have to manage the consequences of my mistakes (ice the ankle, toss the plant). I am an expert at neither, and there are scads of people who do both with more dedication and experience than I. Sometimes I choose the wrong equipment (running clothes, rose bushes) and I have to make do or get new. I could work harder at both, and get better results, but I'm not that driven right now. Ultimately, if it's what I really want, then I will put forth the effort needed to get the results I desire.

So, I will continue to try to keep my plants alive and pretty, and I will continue to jog my two miles. I will enjoy the beauty of the flowers and rejoice when I reach that two-mile marker. Both endeavors will give me great pleasure, not just because the flowers are pretty and I completed the miles, but because it's something I do just for me. As I grow that lovely yellow rose and as I run those last steps, I find myself extending my horizons. Maybe that's what these sixty-six days are about - not only reaching these eight goals, but finding new ones all along the way.