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Ten Things of Thankful: Another 10K!




This post is like my recent 10K run:  finished rather late, but happy to have completed it.  Before I write more about the race, though, here are some thankfuls I noticed earlier in the week:

1.  I'm thankful for the wind.  It's a familiar sound here, and I rather like to hear it howling.  It often signals a change in weather--usually colder--which, living in a hot desert, is a welcome relief.  (I can live with our January daily highs, though, but I still like to listen to the wind from the comfort of my house.)

2.  I'm thankful for the moon.   I probably post a photo every month, but every month I think, "Wow!  Look at that moon!" I must have a short memory, but the beauty of the moon never fails to amaze me.

 

3.  I'm thankful for friends who play the organ.  As I've mentioned before, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates with a lay clergy. Because not every congregation has someone who has been trained on the organ, often piano players are asked if they will play the organ in our meetings.  In our ward, several of us take turns--one playing for the meetings one month, another playing the next month, etc.  

I think I am one of the least formally trained piano players of the bunch, and though I've "played" the organ for years at church, I really don't know what I'm doing.  I rely heavily on the "cheat sheet", a paper on the organ that tells me what preset button to push for prelude music, soft hymns, more energetic hymns, etc.  

When I sat down at the organ last Sunday and pressed my preferred setting button, I noticed that all of the stops went down.  Instant panic:  someone had reset all the preset buttons!  I had a flashback to the infamous day years ago when I detected trumpets during a should-be-quiet sacrament hymn.  I didn't want a repeat of that performance, and I didn't have time to experiment on my own to figure out what stops to set.  I quickly grabbed a friend from the congregation who calmly set the organ for me.  

I really should take the time to learn more about the organ, but I'm also really glad that I can draw on the knowledge of others.

4.  I'm thankful for the chance I had to substitute teach for the 4 & 5 year old class at church.  Besides being adorable, young children teach me many things, including humility.  

The lesson last Sunday was " I Can Choose the Right."  The children were supposed to learn to ask themselves, "What would Jesus want me to do?" when faced with a difficult decision.  To illustrate the point, the lesson manual suggested telling a story about a boy named Warren who was observing a nest of eggs in a bird sanctuary (where his father works).  While Warren was studying the nest, some boys came up, killed a bird with a slingshot, and threatened to hurt Warren if he told on them.  You can read the rest of the story here.  I hard-boiled some eggs and put them in a little nest to use as a visual aid.  Unfortunately, after telling the story, I inadvertently  cracked one of the eggs.  One of the little boys in the class lamented, "That egg will never be a bird."  

I started to explain that the eggs were hard-boiled, and that they never had birds inside of them to begin with, but quickly realized that my statement might just lead to other questions--questions that really weren't my place to answer.  So, we just went on with the lesson as written in the manual, while I felt as mean as the bird-killing, sling-shot-wielding boys in the story. 

5.  I'm thankful for John.  Yes, that is a repeat from other weeks, but there are so many little things that I notice each week that remind me of what a great guy he is.  On Wednesday, as I folded clothes--clean clothes which had been sitting in a laundry basket in our room for days--John said, sincerely and without sarcasm, "Oh, thank you."  Even though I've done most of the laundry our entire married life, he neither expressed annoyance that I hadn't folded and put away the clothes in a timely fashion, nor had he just taken my (albeit late) efforts for granted.  

(Segue into the 10K):

6.  I'm thankful that John also supports me in my interests.  He and youngest daughter came down to cheer me (and oldest daughter) on during the race.  He sweetly personalized a sign.  He felt like the more he added to the smiley face, the worse it got, but I think it's fine.



7.  I'm also thankful for others who supported me.  I joined Twitter fairly recently, and my phone now buzzes every time someone I follow tweets something.  During the run, my phone just kept buzzing and buzzing.  I thought of the line from It's a Wonderful Life:  "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings."  In this case, however, "Every time my phone buzzes, Lizzi is rooting me on."  Though the tweets weren't really about me, I appreciate Lizzi and others--both online and IRL--who have offered words of encouragement.  

8.  I'm thankful for the Disneyland custodial staff.  Not only were they lined up throughout the race to cheer on the runners, I know they had a huge cleanup project awaiting them after the race.  With over 8300 race finishers of the Tinkerbell 10K  (not to mention the thousands who ran the 5K and the half marathon), there was a lot of pixie dust landing everywhere.  I'm not kidding.  You would not believe the amount of glitter that was in the women's bathrooms!  Anyone who has ever tried to clean up glitter knows what a hassle it is.  Hurray for Disney custodians, who remained cheerful even when faced with a tremendous number of fairy wings running through the park. 

(The video below gives a taste of what the run was like.  Where else could I have run in a green organza skirt and glittery fairy wings and blended in with the crowd?  I'm not in the video, but you can see how many people were in costume.)

 

9.   I'm thankful that oldest daughter came to run with me.  The day before the race, after picking up our packets, we spent the morning together at Disneyland.  John and youngest daughter joined us in the afternoon.  Oldest daughter loves photos with the characters, so we took a few, both before and during the run:







 10.  I'm thankful we finished and felt good during and after the race!


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Thanks for another week!

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Comments

  1. So great that your daughter ran the 10k with you- fun way to bond (for you guys… my mom and I… not so much). Love the photo of the moon!

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    1. First comment! :-)

      It's so much more fun to run with someone--John is going to run with me next month for a color run!

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  2. Awwh well done you (and oldest daughter) for doing the run. 10k is immense, and I have to say, even though I'm (cramps not withstanding) confident I could do that length, I'm still SO pleased that you inspired me to start running (well, and Dyanne) and that you're still doing it and keeping the levels of inspiration going. I need to get back into it and try to nix these cramps.

    John is so sweet to you. I love the little quotes on the balloons. And YAY! for appreciation. That always helps :D

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    1. One thing I'm (slowly) learning to do is to recognize that I don't have to push myself to the brink for my efforts to "count." We ran a slow race. We walked a bit in a couple of spots, when one of us wasn't feeling great, BUT. . . we had fun. We finished. We participated. The competitive side of me (and YES, I do have a fiercely competitive side) struggles with that idea a bit, but it feels nice, too.

      We will just continue to inspire each other, OK?

      John is a great guy; I'm very fortunate.

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  3. That looks like such a fun day! And what a great thing for Mom and Daughter to do together! I love the moments Kidzilla and I have together and hope they continue and develop into even more wonderful things.

    I love your moon pictures - that one is especially spectacular. Looks like something you see in a movie or a book - but no, it's for real!

    Have a wonderful week!

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    1. We did have fun! I love spending time with my daughter, seeing how she has grown and developed into the person she is today. The 2-yr-old self is still there, but all grown up. I'm sure you'll enjoy the same observations with your Kidzilla.

      That moon does look like a movie set, doesn't it? It really was real, though!

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  4. Fantastic - congratulations to you and your daughter!

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  5. I'm impressed by anyone who can run a 10K! I've tried running on numerous occasions and have finally concluded that walking is my preferred form of exercise. Looks like a fun run!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walking is fun, too. I particularly love walking with friends.

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  6. Congratulations on another great finish you both look happy. It's wonderful to be able to participate in this event with your daughter and create such memories.

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  7. woohoo! Very cool! I also know what you mean about the moon ...its as if its a different thing every time I take a photo...

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    1. I just can't seem to resist taking photos of the moon--or sunrises/sunsets!

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  8. As I read, I kept thinking, "Surely she's going to put a photo of the two of them in their organza skirts!" Thank you for including it. :)
    Your story of the trumpets playing on the organ made me laugh, but cringe for you. I'm glad you have people who can jump in and help you, but yes, I think it's time you took an organ lesson from one of the players.
    Your husband is a peach. I'm glad you include him each week. It's wonderful to have such a supportive husband, especially when we are behind on our usual chores.

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    1. I think what is needed is more along the line of years of lessons--and hours and hours of practice to accompany those lessons.

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  9. Wow! Look at that moon! (lol you know someone would say that… how do you get the moon to come out as big as it does? Everytime I try to take a photo of a moon rise…it looks nowhere near as gigantic in the photo as it side in the real world).

    Christine and I have a similar appreciation for the funny things in life (weird, I know! don't tell her I said that!)… but I couldn't help but have a quick 'visual' when you mentioned trumpets in a quiet song. Well, in our defense, you *did* set it up where the setting were changed…lol
    sounds like it all came out ok.
    Totally impressed by the running thing! yow! very impressive…simply to complete!

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    1. Besides just zooming in, I don't know how I managed to get the moon to look large. I know what you mean, though--photos need to come with a little mirror sticker: "Objects are larger than they appear."

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  10. I also love full moons, and wind! It reminds me of the power of God! I loved your children's lesson, complete with cracked egg... children are so very literal! :0) Also love that your hubby is supportive and thankful for what you do to take care of family and home. Papa Bear is like that too, and it makes all the difference to know that your efforts are appreciated, and that you aren't hassled if things run a bit behind, as they often do here too. I am so very proud of you and your daughter for running that 10K... with fairy wings no less... how fun, and how healthy! WOW!

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    1. One of my favorite children's songs at church is "My Heavenly Father Loves Me". http://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/my-heavenly-father-loves-me?lang=eng

      It mentions many of the physical creations of this world (including the wind) that shows us God's love for us.

      The fairy wings were really light--we didn't really notice them. They did add to the festive nature of the run, though!

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  11. So many things to be thankful for! I had no idea you could preset an organ! I definitely learned a thing or 2 reading about that. Me and my husband have only been married just shy of 3 years, but I really love his thanks for doing things that I know it's my job to do and it's the best when he raves about how delicious a meal was too so I definitely understand where you are coming from with your husband saying "oh thank you." :) Fun pictures at Disneyland! Thanks for sharing! I went when I was in college for the very first time :)

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    1. Some organs have a line of buttons that allow you to save your favorite settings--much like preset buttons on a radio. That way you don't have to bother selecting which individual sounds to play for each song. What I need to do is learn what each stop on the organ sounds like, so that if the presets get reset again, I will know whether to use a "rohrflote" or a "diapason".

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  12. I love the wind too, I used to write about it all the time. I used to live right on Lake Michigan and even on the coldest days I would stand outside and just let the wind howl against me.
    Now I am a little farther from the lake, but when it's windy I always make sure to go for a nice long walk!

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    1. Your comment reminded me of a time I took some of my kids on a hike in the middle of a wind storm. They were afraid we were going to blow off the mountain, but I found it invigorating!

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  13. Congrats on finishing the race and on having your daughter to share it with! The costumes turned out great!

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  14. Wow, that race looked amazing! What fun. Glad you enjoyed it and went at a good pace for yourself. I loved your moon photo too. I have tried a couple of times to photograph the moon, but never got good results at night (though I have a great photo I took in Chile at sunset with the moon over the mountains.) I might have another go again after seeing yours.

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  15. Congratulations on the run, Twinkle Toes Kristi!! I love that your daughter went with you as well and agree that the smiley from your husband is adorable and not ruined at all! Also, that moon photo is breathtaking. I love seeing those - it's like the whole world of worries stops when we experience views like that that allow us to remember our places in this amazingly wonderful very large world.

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  16. What cute Tinkerbells you two are! I am even MORE impressed that you left the 5k in the dust and went with the 10k! And yes, I commiserate with the custodial staff on the cleaning up of the glitter!
    I can only imagine your panic when you found the organ stops had been reset! Organs can make some pretty startling noises, and I'm sure you are grateful you avoided those.
    Oh, those 4 and 5 year olds! You never know what they will say. You were wise to drop the whole this-egg-won't-hatch-a-chick conversation. Very wise. And I don't think that boy will need therapy because you cracked the egg. Well, not much therapy, anyway.

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