Posted by I had plans for today. It was going to be a good day. But I should have known when I got a text at 5:45 this morning canceling my lunch plans, that the day I had planned was not the day I was going to have. It’s okay though, because it may have turned out even better. Most of my day today was spent with people who have big dreams and you know how I feel about people with big dreams: 1) they rock and 2) I want to surround myself with them!
Yesterday was a tough day. Too many thoughts, emotions and what ifs triggered by some newly appearing and seem to be spreading bruising on my knee. I had hoped that the tide would change over night and this morning I would be my happy self again, but the blue mood lingered long into physical therapy this morning. Things began to change on the treadmill when I got to chat with a woman named Rita who was hanging out in the harness on the treadmill beside me. We chatted about injuries, her back pain had brought her into PT. She was so sweet that she began to melt some of the ice. We both had dreams that one day we would be back to full strength and full functioning doing the things that we loved.
Because my lunch date had canceled, I was able to go to lunch with some other folks. Sitting at a table full of triathletes we talked about the races we had on our calendars and the goals associated with them. Big dreams of crossing the finish line in that crew–four out of the five of us signed up for an Ironman this year. I do realize that the time I spend when them normalizes the dreams I have and the things I do to get there. When we chat about our long rides and waking up before dark to get in workouts during the week and skipping out on lunch to sneak in a workout, I get motivated to do even more.
My next two meetings had to do with my dream for closing the streets down for safe recreation. We are making some great progress on this effort. Debriefing after the meetings with my partner in crime Jeff on this, it was awesome to think about how far we have come, the folks we have on board, and the real potential for this to happen. And if we fail miserably, that’s okay, too, because at least we tried. We have a health crisis here in Louisiana and things need to happen yesterday, but when people are too afraid of making a misstep to do anything, we continue to be stuck in the same place of crisis. Luckily, I get to work with Jeff on a couple of projects and we get to dream a lot together about a healthier Louisiana.
The evening was supposed to include a run clinic with members of the triathlon club, but since no one showed up, I got to have dinner with the fastest triathletes I know–he will be a pro someday and sooner than later in my opinion. And while he balks at the fast comment, I am so excited for him and will continue to shout it to the rooftops! Sure we talked about running and I got the inside scoop about shoe technology as I am always interested in what shoes are the best for me given my new reality, but we also talked a lot (a couple hours worth) about life and our dreams for it. This guy has some big dreams folks, be forewarned, but one of my pieces of advice to him was to make sure he was surrounding himself with other people who dream big. Remember that whole big dreams are contagious thing. Well they are and they breed more big dreams and by hanging out with other folks who dream big, you begin to see that as normal and it becomes a regular part of your life just like hanging out with other Ironman triathletes makes riding your bike for 5 hours at a time seem normal.
So while my day was not what I had planned, I got to spend the whole day with a bunch of dreamers and big dreamers at that and I’m not sure I could have planned a better way to spend my time!
call me koko 