Reflections on 2013.

We are entering into the final week of 2013, and as a year winds down and a new one is ready to usher in new opportunity, it's a good time to look back on the highs and lows of the previous year.  There are a few key moments that I keep thinking of when I look back on 2013, and I have chosen to share them with you.

January / February ~  As I rang in 2013 it was laced with sadness and an injury.  I was still dealing with a break up that was very difficult for me, and to make matters worse I was in physical therapy for a hamstring injury so I couldn't cope through running.  By mid-January I was three weeks away from having medical clearance to run and I needed something to look forward to on the calendar.  I decided to plan a road trip down to Kentucky to visit my brother and his wife, and meet my beautiful great niece.  On Valentine's Day I drove down to Lawrenceburg and embraced the change in scenery, took my time going through small towns, singing along to my XM radio, and embraced every new experience as a way to rejuvenate my temporarily downtrodden spirit.  Spending time with my family and enjoying a slower pace of life, I started to feel my spirits lift.  I met a friend of my brother and sister in law's and she had a significant impact on me.  She has just gone through a break up and had absolutely no problem talking about it - how hard it was, how awful she felt, how much she cried - she just put it all out there and was completely unapologetic about it.  That kind of authenticity and honesty isn't something you see very often, and it reinforced to me that it's okay to feel what you're feeling - we're all human, we have good days and bad, and you don't have to 'fake it' to get through things.  Just be who you are.  I was so thankful to have met her!


Woodford Reserve tour in KY!

Selfie with my brother. :)
 

March ~ My mojo really shifted in March.  With a happier mindset, starting running again, and having some promising things going on with work I was happy to be pleasantly surprised by a man who has proved to be the most loving, intelligent and engaging person I have met.  I was on a work trip in Orlando when he and I started talking, and it has been wonderful ever since then.  It proved the old adage true that you find what you're looking for when you stop looking for it. 

July ~ I think back to this month a lot.  I took a road trip to Colorado with three girls I coached when they were in high school, and are all sophomores in college now.  We had an amazing time of scenic runs, yoga at Red Rocks, fireworks over Breckenridge on the 4th,  singing along to Luke Bryan, cooking some hit or miss meals, and having a lot of laughs.  None of the girls had been to Colorado before so I loved showing them my favorite places, hiking to hard to reach places, and sharing my love for the mountains.
 

September/October/November ~ Cross country season was something for the story books - I still can't believe it.  Our season was highly decorated this year.  We won many meets, broke records, suffered devastating injuries, and still managed to pull off a state win - the first one in school history for the program!  I could not have been more proud of the girls I've pounded out so many miles with.  Seeing them all glow on that podium made all the early mornings, late nights, and 60+ hour work weeks worth while. 

December ~ Christmas was a very happy time for me this year.  I had a wonderful man to spend Christmas Eve with along with his family, and it was the feeling of 'home' I had wanted.  His nieces insisted I sit next to them at dinner, laughed with his parents, played games with his brother and his wife.  It was wonderful! Christmas Day was a relaxing day with my parents - grilling steaks, playing cards, watching A Christmas Story. 

Though this year had a bit of a rocky start, it really has ended up being the best year I have had.  I hope you all have some time to reflect on the year that is wrapping up and celebrate those moments that stand out to you.  Congratulations on your 2013, and I look forward to cheering you on in your successes in 2014 as well. 

 "Have a dream, make a plan, go for it. You'll get there, I promise."____Zoe Koplowitz, Achilles Track Club member with multiple sclerosis, who required 24 hours on crutches but finished the 1993 New York City Marathon.