There's no telling...

It's true. There's not telling how many miles there are between here and our dreams. One thing's for sure, though; if we don't keep putting one foot in front of the other, in that direction, we'll never get there!

Today, I got out on my bike. It's been a long time. With travelling, work, moving, the hostel and the yard work, I've not gotten out enough on my little red bandit. (This is a photo taken last fall when I was training for the Cozumel race.)

Tonight, I had a friend over to try my (now) very famous rhubarb-cherry crumble and we had a great conversation about training and ironman races. My friend is training for the ironman race coming up in 2 months (and he has actually been training!) It's his first race. He's a little nervous. It's my 8th race and, from my experience, the nervousness never goes away.

I think most every triathlete, whether it's a first race or 50th and whether we've done every training ride or are "cramming" to get in a few long rides before race day...we're all nervous...and we're all chasing some sort of dream.

And there's not telling how many miles we'll have to go to reach it.

I got back from my ride today and got out in the yard, which has now become a daily ritual. I picked the last of the cherries and then thinned the peaches and after that was all done, I stopped to look around at the maze of trees and plants.

There's no telling how many wonderful hours I'll have to put in here either.

It's that way with everything in life and especially with our dreams. There's no telling how long we'll have to wait; how hard we'll have to work; how many hours it'll take; how many miles we'll have to run; how much it'll cost; how tired we'll be; how often we'll want to give up...

There's also no telling how waiting will teach me patience; how hard work will teach me to have a work ethic; how many hours will teach me to plan accordingly; how many miles will teach me to pace myself; how the price will teach me to steward my money well; how fatigue will teach me to listen to my body, mind and spirit; and how the question of giving up will teach me about commitment and intentionally choosing to hold on to my dreams.

Yes...there's no telling how many miles we'll have to run while chasing our dreams. All that's really certain is the value of having dreams...and putting one (even tiny) step towards those dreams every day.

Today, I took a few tiny steps.

Mom - I thought of you today, as I was up in the ladder. I'm sure some days, when you were raising 10 kids and running the business, felt like very tiny steps forward. There was no telling just where those steps would take you... or how much of an incredible impact you'd make on your kids and grandkids...and shape all of our lives in ways beyond measure.

Thank you for always putting one foot in front of the other, Mom, and for teaching me to do the same.

love you,
Crystal