Rambling....

This weekend brought a milestone for us: Caitlin went to her first High School dance. She asked a friend of hers to the Sweetheart Dance, which actually fell on Valentine's Day this year. There were four couples who all went together. They started the day by going to a movie, then everyone went home and got ready for dinner and the dance. As the above picture shows, Caitlin looked beautiful and she said she had a really good time. I really like the way kids approach dances these days. They are a group activity rather than a one on one date, and a lot of kids ask a friend to go, rather than feeling they can't go if they don't have a steady boyfriend/girlfriend. I think that's a much healthier, not to mention safer way of going to school dances.

Chip and I have signed up to run the Ogden Half-Marathon on May 18th. I got in a 10-miler this morning. I'll do a few more of those this month, then bump it up to 13-miles and then get in a few 15-milers before the race.

I haven't run a race in a really long time. There was a period of time when I was doing races on a regular basis. I really didn't enjoy racing, however. I found I got so competitive; not with other people but with myself. I would literally feel sick after each race because I had either pushed myself too hard or I had been so anxious about the race. So, I quit racing for a number of years and oddly enough developed a fear of racing. I have decided to run this half-marathon to confront this fear and overcome it.

I am trying to be very intentional about dealing with some of the baggage I've been carrying, both old and new. As a friend told me, "What you choose to resist, will persist." Both Chip and I have recognized some things in each of our lives that we feel are self-limiting; we are supporting one another in our efforts to overcome them. I also know from experience that there's no better place to process and reflect than during a long run, which I'll have plenty of opportunity to do in the upcoming months!

Today is President's Day so the whole family is home. Chip and I are going snowshoeing later this afternoon, if the weather permits. We always invite the kids to go, but it's just not their thing. I suppose when I was a teenager I probably didn't think that walking around in the snow and cold with a big pair of shoes strapped to my feet was a good time.

I'm happy to report that Chemistry is coming along nicely. If anyone actually ever saw me study it, they would laugh. I have to read it outloud to myself, several times over, and then tell myself in my own words what I just read. It's crazy, but it's the only way I can wrap my mind around this subject. Hey, whatever it takes! My Anatomy and Physiology class is just the opposite. I listen to the lecture, take some notes, and....voila, I get it.

Caitlin, mom and I went to the symphony a week ago. The program was "Cho's Anatomy." David Cho is the Asst. Conductor of the Utah Symphony. He "dissected" a symphony, Beethoven's 9th, and explained all the different parts of that particular symphony for the first half of the program. The second half they played the entire symphony which I have to say was so enjoyable after having some background and understanding more about the music forms in a symphony. We have tickets to Madame Butterly, the ballet, in two weeks. Caitlin is really excited for that program.

Well, I'd better get off the computer and accomplish something today besides blogging and catching up on Facebook!