Just Like My Mother

I never thought I would admit this, but I am more and more like my mother every day. My mother is known for her klutziness. She falls, she walks into things, she bruises like a peach, she's had more surgeries than Michael Jackson, and she is constantly getting hurt. Kye has a similar trademark, although a lot of his injuries occur because he has no fear.

This weekend, I proved to be just like my mother and nephew: a klutz. Actually, it started before this weekend, but I've injured myself twice in less than three days. It all started last October when I bought my clip in shoes and pedals. Literally, your shoes clip into your bike pedal, and you have to twist your foot pretty hard to get your shoe out. When approaching a stop, you have to be prepared to twist long before the stop to allow time to get your shoe on the ground.

In a previous post, I shared my first experience riding with my clips. I fell twice that afternoon; a car, of course, saw one of the falls and pulled up beside me to see if I was OK. I was more embarrassed than anything, and I quickly got up and pedaled away. About a month ago, I fell again. It wasn't entirely my fault. We came down a big hill where we had to turn 90 degrees and start riding up a long hill. I made the turn and my chain fell off, so I tipped over onto the road. The girl behind me almost ran me over, but she was quick enough to avoid me.

This weekend during the MS ride, I took my nastiest fall yet. AND I WASN'T EVEN RIDING. I was standing! I had one shoe clipped in. The other shoe was on the ground balancing me. I don't entirely remember what happened, but I started to fall toward the side in which my shoe was clipped in, so there was no way of saving myself. I fell hard onto the pavement, almost taking down a co-rider. I fell so hard on my elbow I thought I had broken it, and I could feel blood dripping down my leg. After shaking off the pain in my elbow, I realized I hadn't broken it. The back of my leg was bloody and throbbing, so I took off toward the medical tent to get a band aid. I had to be my own nurse and clean the wound, which almost made me pass out (combined with the heat and exhaustion, I wasn't feeling very good). I bandaged myself up, and I was ready to ride again.

Two days have passed, and I'm a little tender. My elbow has a massive bruise, and the back of my leg is pretty cut up.

So today, I had another accident in a rental car. Actually, it was a rental Jeep, which is pretty high off the ground. I wore a dress today, so I had to be careful getting in the Jeep in order to avoid showing off Lady Land. I drove the Jeep to the body shop and waited for my ride to pick me up. My manager pulled up, and in the car with my manager were two other co-workers. As they were backing into the parking space, I was gathering up my purse and book. As I was getting out of the Jeep, I took a nasty fall out of the Jeep. I was stepping onto the ground trying to be lady like, and my heel got caught in the Jeep. I totally fell, showing the entire world my Lady Land. My shoe went flying off, but more than anything, I was mortified that my entire office had just seen me wipe out, or worse yet, seen my private parts.

I am uncertain if anyone saw anything. They weren't laughing when I got in the car, and no one said anything. I acted as if nothing had happened, but on the inside I was in pain. My leg was all scraped up, and I had gravel plastered to my leg. I nonchalantly brushed the dirt and gravel off while driving back to the office, and I can only hope no one saw me fall.

I'm a mess. A complete mess. I look like I've been in a fight...and I lost.

MS 150

As most of you know, I am riding in the MS 150 for the second year. The ride starts tomorrow and continues on through Sunday, in which we ride about 75 miles each day. My brother, Collin, is riding with us this year, and I am excited to have him by my side (or at least in front of me). I know he'll push me to ride harder and faster than I have ever done before. This is a special event for my family, and I know it will be an emotional finish line for all of us.

I am trying to help my brother raise at least $1,000, so if you'd still like to donate but haven't done so yet, please donate your money to Collin. You can reach his page through this link: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/COCBikeEvents?px=6206251&pg=personal&fr_id=10973&et=NnQwLvG5E1dK2V-mGKH6GA..&s_tafId=105870

You can also access my page through this link:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/COCBikeEvents?px=1822518&pg=personal&fr_id=10973

(You might have to copy and paste the link into your browser).

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers this weekend. I sure can use them!

Panic & Decisions

Have you ever awoke from a deep sleep in a panic? I often wake up remembering something I was supposed to do but forgot or realizing something is very wrong. I woke up this morning in that panicked state. As my alarm was beeping, I was half awake as I realized that I didn't put my bike away last night.

I went for a ride last night, and when I got home, I gathered up my gym bag, my school bag, my purse and my coffee cup. I made sure to lock the door since someone broke into Shan and Jeff's car a few weeks ago. I walked inside and got distracted by talking to Shan and Jeff. I watched half of the Bachelorette, took a shower and went to bed.

When my alarm went off this morning, I hit snooze. As I mentioned, I was half awake when I realized I never put my bike away. I have NEVER gotten out of bed so quickly in my life. That's one good way of waking up at 5:30 a.m. in a hurry. I dashed upstairs in record time and ran out the door, only to realize the house alarm was set. I ran back inside to turn off the alarm and dashed outside and around the corner.

Praise be to God, my bike was still on the back of my car. You have no idea the relief I felt when I saw my bike. Phew, crisis averted. I will never do that again.
_______________________________________________________

Now that I'm working for Enterprise again, I am constantly driving. The other day, I was sent on a task to take a car to our central headquarters in the Tech Center. I was on C-470, which turns into E-470 (a toll road) if you don't exit onto I-25 in time. I was in the lane that would take me to E-470, and I had plenty of time to switch lanes to exit onto I-25 UNTIL a car cut me off, which boxed me into the far left lane. I needed to be in the far right lane. Normally, I would have probably cut off the car in the right lane and made the exit in time, BUT the car in the right lane was a cop.

At this point, I had two choices. Cut a police car off and make my exit OR go onto the roll road with no money in my pocket. Since I didn't have my driver's license on me, I decided it would be better to go through the toll than get pulled over by a cop. I really had no choice but to blow through the toll. I had no money, no purse, no credit card, nothing. So I excited and went right through the toll. It takes a picture of the driver and license plate, so I tried to turn my head a little so the picture wouldn't be a clear shot of my face. Now that I was turned around, I had to blow through the same toll in order to get back to I-25, so I ended up going through two tolls within a matter of minutes.

My next decision involved telling the truth. Do I mention to Enterprise that I just cost them at least $80? Perhaps they would take it out of my paycheck. Or, I could keep it a secret and see if they could trace it back to me. I decided to be honest, so I confessed to the appropriate person. She never replied back to my email, so I guess I'll see if they will take it out of my paycheck.

A Blind Date

I've only ever been on one blind date. My friend, Jami, set me up with a guy named Chris. She worked with him and just raved and raved about this guy. He was a Christian and cute, so I agreed to meet him. The only catch, Jami told me, was he was 10 years older than me. I was 26, so that made him 36. I could handle that age difference, so Jami gave Chris my phone number.

I can't imagine the stress of a guy calling a girl whom he doesn't know, but Chris called me one afternoon and we had a pleasant conversation. We planned to meet at Starbucks on Monday right after I got off work. I was so excited to meet Chris, and I spent the weekend planning the "perfect" outfit. Since I was meeting him right after work, I had to dress professionally for work but cute enough for the date.

On that Monday, I received a text from Chris saying he was really sick and wouldn't be able to meet as planned. However, he still wanted to get together so would Thursday work? I was disappointed, but we rescheduled to meet Thursday, same time same place. I then had to plan a second "perfect" outfit, and that also suspended my nervousness for three more days.

Finally Thursday at 5:30 arrived. As with any date, let alone a blind date, the first few moments were awkward. We ordered and sat down to ask the first date questions. What do you do? Where are you from? Do you have any siblings? Any pets? Etc. We made it through the first hour without a hitch. As we became more comfortable with each other, we began to talk about more serious things and the time ticked away. Pretty soon we had been at Starbucks for two hours.

Then Chris asked me, "So, you're 26. Why are you still single?" I answered and reciprocated the question back to him. He began this long monologue of how he was ready to get married and start having kids right away. He said, "I'm not getting any younger. I'll be 37 in a few weeks. Even if I start dating someone right now, by the time we date, get engaged and then married, I'll be at least 38. We'll have to have kids right away, so that puts me around 39, and that's only if she gets pregnant right away. And I want to have several kids, so that puts me in my 40's by the time we're done."

I was sitting there listening to him plan out the rest of his 30's, and I was freaking out. I was thinking to myself, slow down buddy. Let life happen. Let God's plan happen. I was also thinking that I was only 26, and while I do want to get married and have kids, I wasn't ready for it to happen right then and there. Chris continued to map out his life while I sat there letting my mind drift. After another hour of him talking, I decided I had heard enough. I thanked him for the coffee, we hugged and both went our separate ways. I never heard from him again.

Jami later told me that Chris had asked about me. He said, "I never heard from her again so she must not have been interested." He was correct in that thinking, but I figured he would contact me if he was interested. I didn't realize it was my task to call him.

That date with Chris was in May. By August, Chris was dating a girl and they were married in December. He WAS ready to get married right away. The girl he married had four children, so he got his wish of having kids right away, too.

A Dating Story

I moved back to Kearney from Oregon in August, 2002. It took me a little bit of time to adjust back into my old life, which also included making new friends and finding my place of belonging again. At this point in my life, I really hadn't dated anyone, nor had I even been on many dates. It wasn't that I didn't want to date, it was just that I hadn't found anyone worth dating.

One Sunday morning at church after the service was over, I had a guy come up to me and introduce himself. He was quite bold and told me he had seen me sitting alone and wanted to know if I was dating anyone. I replied no, to which he replied that he was interested in getting to know me and wanted to take me out to dinner. He seemed interesting enough, so I agreed to meet him at Perkins later that evening (it's Kearney, so Perkins was one of the best options). I arrived at Perkins on time, as did he. We settled into our booth to begin the date. It was a pleasant evening. He was easy to talk to, and he asked a lot of good questions. He wanted to know about my time in Oregon, what I was studying, what I wanted to do when I grow up, etc.

As dinner was coming to a close, he started digging in his bag and out came a camera. He asked if he could take a picture of me. I thought this was very odd, especially since we had just met eight hours earlier, but I didn't know what to say so I agreed. He came and sat beside me and did a self portrait of the two of us. He then wanted to go to Harmon Park to walk around the Rock Garden, so I told him I would meet him at the park.

At the park, he wanted to take more pictures, so I was a good sport and posed for a few more pictures. I still thought it was odd he was taking pictures of me on a first date, but I kept my thoughts to myself. He even stopped an older couple and asked them to take a picture of us. Then he asked me how old I was. I told him I was 21 and asked the same question back to him.

This is where the date became REALLY odd (if the picture taking wasn't odd enough). He refused to tell his age. He said age is just a number, and it shouldn't matter how old he is; he said if there's chemistry between us, then his age shouldn't come between us. On many aspects, I agree with that, but the fact that he refused to tell me made me suspicious of him. He finally told me he was in his 30's, but that's all he would say. In my head I was thinking that could make him as young as 30 (which was 9 years older than me) or as old as 39 (which was 18 years older than me). Nine years wasn't such a problem, but as a 21 year old, I didn't think my dad would approve of the age difference.

Then he asked if I drank. No, actually, I did not drink. He asked if I went to the bars. Yes, I did go to the bars every once in a while with my friends. He proceeded to preach at me about Christians and bars and how we should NEVER set foot in that place of sin, and we needed to set ourselves above all others. I got a 20 minute sermon on drinking. I'm not much of an arguing type, so I sat there and listened to his point, but after he was done speaking I told him I had heard enough and I was ready to go home.

But he wasn't ready to end our date. He was having a splendid time. I told him I had enjoyed myself up until he started preaching at me and refused to tell me his age. I told him age didn't matter to me that much, but the fact that he was refusing to disclose his real age made me suspicious of him and made me wonder why it was such a big secret. I also told him that I loved Jesus, and while I am a sinner, I am a forgiven sinner and he really didn't have a right to judge me because I went to the bar.

I thanked him for dinner and politely excused myself. He asked me on another date, but I told him I wasn't interested in another date.

Seven years has passed since that time, and I randomly see this guy every time I go back to Kearney. Guess where I see him? At the bar! I don't remember his name, and I don't know if he remember me. We never talk, and in fact, I avoid eye contact with him, but I can't help but chuckle to myself when I do see him. He must have had a change of heart concerning the bars.

A Boring Update

There really hasn't been anything to update you on this past week, but I wanted to say hi and let you know I'm around. HI!

I started summer school and working at Enterprise this week. Summer school goes from 7-12 every day and then I go to Enterprise from 1-6. It makes for a long day and a long week. Now that I'm a teacher, everyone says, "So, what are you doing with your free summer?" To which I reply, "Actually, I'm working 50 hours a week (more than I work during the school year)." Then I have to explain that I'm not actually getting paid this summer because I don't start my official teaching job until August. NEXT summer I will get a paycheck for not working, but this summer, if I don't work, I don't get paid.

Hence summer school and Enterprise.

I was nervous about re-starting at Enterprise. Even though I had worked there for 4 1/2 years, I was afraid I wouldn't remember everything, but I guess it's kind of like riding a bike. This past week was actually fun, and the people I work with are great. They welcomed me with open arms and are thankful for the extra help and thankful they don't have to train me. Since I'm not a manager anymore, I really don't have any stress while there (which is a big reason why I didn't like it), so my five hours at Enterprise are quiet enjoyable.

My students at summer school are pretty cool. They, of course, don't want to be there, so participation has been less than par, but I'm one week down and five more to go.

I'm actually looking forward to the start of school in August so I can start my normal routine again (and be done with teaching by 3pm). This working until 6pm sucks!

The MS150 is two weeks away, so I'm down to crunch time. I rode about 30 miles today with some friends, which Shannon reminded me, "That's not even close to 75 miles." Thanks, Shan! It's going to be a tough ride, but I am confident I will be ready to go.

Last but not least, my graduation from grad school is this next weekend, so I have friends coming from NE and lots of family coming to Denver. I can't wait. I will post pictures and an update as soon as I can.

A Stroll Down High School Lane

My class was very divided throughout high school. We had the skaters, the preppy kids, the athletic, the druggies, the nerds, the music dorks (that was me), and the Thespians (that was me, too). Every person had their cliche, and the lines were not crossed. The preppy kids, in particular, were not a very nice group of people. They were friends only with themselves and they took every opportunity to make themselves feel superior and others inferior. They were mean, they picked on others, they made fun of others, and they laughed at others. Needless to say, it made my high school experience very negative at times.

I was quiet in high school (unless I was with my group-"the religious ones"). I didn't have any enemies, but the preppy kids did not go out of their way to talk to me or get to know me. I stayed within my music and theatre groups and they, I'm sure, made fun of all of us.

But that's the joy of graduation. You move out and move on. You make new friends. You try to stay in contact with old friends. You create the life you've always dreamed of. Through this blog, you've been able to follow my life for over two years, but even before this was created, I've had a pretty good 10 years since graduation.

And through the wonderful life of Facebook, I've also been able to follow the life of many of my classmates. It's been fun to know what everyone is up to. That didn't take away the nervousness, however, as I prepared to face my peers, many of whom I hadn't seen for 10 years. So as I was doing my hair and make up, I couldn't help but wonder how I would be greeted. Would they look and turn away? Would they hug me? Would they point and laugh?

The reception I received was FAR beyond what I had ever imagined. One girl in particular, who was not very nice to anyone in high school, went out of her way to speak to me and become "friends" with me. She even said to me, "I was so nervous to come here tonight. I wasn't very nice in high school, and I was afraid someone would pour a glass of beer on my head." She and I talked with each other for over an hour, and she genuinely was interested in my life (she follows me on Facebook). By the end of the night, she said she wished she lived in the same town as me so we could go to dinner and continue to catch up.

With the exception of two girls, every single person was warm, friendly, and loving. It was such a great, great night. Apart from being reacquainted with old classmates, I also was able to spend a lot of time with some of my best friends from high school. It was like 10 years have never passed. Almost all my old friends are married, and every single one of them has married amazing men. The husbands were so delightful, and I only hope I can find half as great of a man as these men. Upon seeing my old girlfriends, it was as if we have seen each other every single day since we graduated. We laughed a lot. We shared stories. We reminisced.

By far, it was one of the best weekends I've ever had. I got to spend a lot of time with April (I graduated with her boyfriend), and I also spent a lot of time with Shannon (and Kenton), Rachel (and John), Tiffany (and Nate), Josh (and Carissa), Chris (and Rachel), Hannah (and Kelley), Serena, Beth, and Lindsey (and Ray). Thanks, friends, for making it a great weekend.

Me, Serena and Rachel, both very good friends in high school.

Tiffany was my best friend in high school. We did everything together. She is now married with a one year old, Bennett. She married her high school sweetheart. They started dating their junior year and have been married seven years. Tiffany is a high school social studies teacher, but this year she decided to stay home with Bennett. Nate, her husband, just graduated from med school and just began his residency. They live in Omaha.

Tiffany, Rachel, Shannon, Beth, Serena and Heather, all good girlfriends from the past. Beth is married to Adam and they live in California. Serena is an interior designer in Maryland. Heather lives in Kearney.

Tiffany, Me, Rachel and Shannon.

Rachel married John eight years ago. John spent the first year of their marriage in Iraq serving our country. Rachel is addicted to school, and now that she has her Master's in counseling, she is ready to get her PhD. John is working on getting his chaplain degree. Rachel and John are in the process of adopting a child. They live in Springfield, Missouri. Shannon married Kenton four years ago, and they live in Colorado Springs. They have the cutest little 2 1/2 year old girl named Isabel. Kenton is a realtor and Shannon stays at home with Isabel and is a personal trainer.

Shannon looking through the yearbook to make sure she remembered names.

Lindsey was in choir and theatre with me, and she is so much fun. She married Ray in 2004, and they live in Omaha. Lindsey is pregnant with their first child, who is due in November.

Me, Shannon, Rachel and Chris. Chris has the most children out of our class (three girls and one boy). He lives in York with his wife, Rachel. Chris and I had a love/hate relationship during high school, but I can truly say he was one of my best friends growing up. He is a music genius and can play any instrument he picks up. We all had such a good time laughing and sharing stories from the past.

April, of course, is my best friend. Her son, Aydan, stole the show. Her boyfriend, Zach, was voted the most physically changed since high school. His hair is now long, and he's lost a lot of weight. I see him all the time, so I didn't notice the change, but I had people coming up to me asking who he was. Aydan is a miniature Zach.

Matt, Josh and Me.

Matt and I went to Kearney Christian School together from kindergarten through 6th grade. He is an amazing artist (probably the best I've ever seen), and he was voted most likely to work for Disney (his animations are incredible). Come to find out, he lives in Denver a mere five miles from where I live. He works for AMC and does their animations. Josh married Carissa a year ago, and they live in Arizona. Josh works for Food For the Hungry and has traveled all over the world. Josh and I were senior interns for our church youth group, so we spent a lot of time together in high school. He's the one who gave me the nickname, Shi Town.

Of course, this isn't everyone. I wasn't able to get a picture of Hannah and Kelley. They have been married the longest out of anyone in my class. They married shortly after we graduated high school in 1999, so they have their 10 year anniversary this November. They have three kids, Soleil (7), Amelie (5), and Owen (1). They lived in Oregon for 8 years until recently moving back to Kearney to be closer to family and friends. Hannah is four days younger than me, and we used to be mistaken for twins. She's my longest friend, and it's great having her back in Kearney.

Reunion

I will blog about my reunion as soon as I have a chance, but I just got home tonight and have some things to take care of. I will also post a few pictures. For now, I will just say that my reunion was such a BLAST. It was an amazing experience, and I'm already looking forward to my 20 year reunion. Stories to come...

Bird Crap

I was doing a good thing today. I went on a long bike ride. I hopped on the trail at Belleview and Santa Fe and rode to the REI downtown, which was about 25 miles total round trip. The ride getting downtown was uneventful. I stopped at REI to use their restroom, and when I came out a bird crapped on me. At first I thought it was raining...until I looked down and saw the slimy green mess on my glove and handle bar. Not cool.

All I could do was shake my head at God. He sure does have a sense of humor, doesn't He? I began my ride back home. Then a dog ran out in front of me and I almost died. Then several geese were lazily walking down the trail. I literally had to swerve to miss them, which almost caused me to die. I missed the dog and I missed the geese but I almost DID NOT miss the giant pick-up truck that was blocking the trail as I rounded a corner. Seriously? I mean, this is a bike trail. And a walking trail. And a jogging trail. But it is not a road, at least last time I checked. So why in the heck is a pick-up truck on the trail? I slammed on my brakes, narrowly missing the truck. And you guess it...I about died.

If you're keeping track, within the past 15 minutes of heading home from my good deed, I've had a bird crap on my hand and I've about died three times. I can almost see God laughing up above. So again, I'm on my way. This section of trail I'm on is a wonderful trail. It runs along the Platte River and actually goes underneath intersections so a biker doesn't have to cross any streets. Every time it goes underneath an intersection, though, it comes very close to the river. There are signs warning bikers of possible flooding. Since I had just ridden the trail north with no flooding problems, I figured I would be OK to assume that the exact same trail headed south would not have any flooding problems a mere 45 minutes later.

Gosh, was I wrong! I come around a curve to head underneath an intersection and it's completely flooded. Not only is it flooded, but it's a rushing stream of water over a foot deep. I know if I even attempt to go through the flood I will end up floating down the river. Once again I find myself slamming on the brakes. I can't go through it. I can't go under it. I can't go over it. So I must go around it. I had to turn around, go back up a hill and go a different route, which included crossing the street. Once again, crisis averted.

The rest of my ride was uneventful, but those first 20 minutes of my ride back to my car almost killed me. Well, OK, I may be exaggerating a little bit. I didn't almost die, but I did get crapped on, did almost hit a dog, did almost hit several geese and did come across a flood. I survived my ride, and I guess I entertained God for a few hours while I tried to do a good thing.

Girlfriends

I have some pretty great girlfriends.

Kari tells it how it is.
Sonya listens.
April says, "Damn them all." She is as passionate about my life as she is her own.
McGee laughs and makes it all better.
Abby comforts and shares advice from her own experiences.
Courtney shares her knowledge of the Bible.
Irish speaks her mind.
Lisa cares and is genuinely interested in my life.
Holly cracks me up.
Jen will always be a friend no matter how little we see each other.
Kelly snorts when she laughs, and that just makes everything better.
Kristina is quiet but always ready to lend a listening ear.
Jessica loves to listen because she says my life is much more interesting than hers.
Katie C teaches me life lessons.
Katie N and Collin stick up for me and want the best for me.
Kristen gets angry for me when I don't have the energy to do so myself.
Marcy is so clever and witty.
Hayli, though so very far away, is always a great listener.
Hannah is an encourager.
Lindsey, my newest friend, is full of energy.
Megan is the kindest, most loving person I know.
Nikki laughs AT me and somehow it's OK.
Shannon and Jeff are understanding and generous.
Tiffany is so very sweet.

They each bring something different to the table, and I love them all dearly for their advice and love. They have been there for me in the good times and stuck around during the bad times. They have prayed for my dad over the past four years as he's struggled with MS. They have prayed for my mom these past several months as she recovers from a major back surgery. They have cried with me when April was going through cancer. They have supported me through my journey of becoming a teacher. They have donated time and money for things that I am very passionate about. They have pushed me to do things I would have never done on my own (MS 150). They have stopped me from doing things I shouldn't be doing in the first place. They have loved my family as if they were their own. They have played with my nephews and niece. They have hated boys for hurting me. They have loved me for me even when I mess up. They have become a portion of me.

We often go through life never knowing what a difference we are making in other's lives, but I wanted to take a moment to say, "Thank you," to my friends. You make a difference in my life every day. Sometimes I may not appreciate it right away, but your words are always in my mind. I cherish you. I appreciate you. I love you.