"You can run
And when everything is over and done
You can shine a little light on everything around you.
Man it's good to be someone.
And maybe someday
We'll figure all this out
Try to put an end to all our doubt
Try to find a way to make things better now and
Maybe someday we'll live our lives out loud
We'll be better off somehow
Someday"
I remember the first time I heard this song. I was driving down to the New Bedford Half Marathon; not to race (like I had originally planned), but rather to support my teammates and friends who were running. Coming off an injury, this was my fifth week of no running. By that point, I was well past the point of acceptance and was prepared to take things very slow going forward. Despite the disappointing weeks leading up to that, I remember being in a pretty good mood on that drive down from Boston. It was one of the first nice days of the year, I didn't have to work, and I was looking forward to a low key day of watching the race and spending time with friends afterward. As this song came on, I became very hopeful for things to come. This was about 3 months ago and that was my first day back to running. I ran for 10 minutes.
That same week, my friend and current roommate, Paul Rupprecht finally made the move to Boston and joined the NB Boston squad. Obviously, Paul was in much better shape than someone who hadn't run in 5 weeks, but it was still a big help to have him around as I tried to get going again. We were up every morning before work for a run and I would get in my 15-20 min of running with him, usually followed by lots of walking and stretching. It was a good start.
At the end of that first week, there was a shift in events. My parents called to tell me my grandfather was having some health complications and I should come up as quickly as I could. Before I even had a chance to get out the door, they called back to tell me he had already passed. In his 93rd year, he had lived a very good life and though it was an emotional time for the family, we knew this day would come and always tried to be as prepared as possible while we enjoyed his place in our lives. Plans were made for funeral services in his hometown of Bennington, VT so after driving to Maine to meet up with my family, we made the trip to Bennington.
I always knew my grandfather was a well known and very well liked person, but at almost 93 years, he had outlived most of his closest friends, which led us to believe the services would be small and mostly family attended. I had a mixture of emotions when I saw how many people attended the services. Every person that came up to me told me who they were and how they knew my grandfather. Each time, they gave me a solid handshake and told what a good man he was. I certainly wasn't surprised to hear that my grandfather was a good man; I was well aware of this and was very proud of the fact. But I had known him my whole life. Some of these people that visited only knew him through church, Knights of Columbus, the paint store, or even less frequent occasions. It didn't matter, because he made a tremendous impact on every person he met. He was always a pleasant person to be around and it didn't matter if you were his grandson or someone meeting him for the first time... he'd treat you like you were one of his best friends. Again, I'll say that it was a weekend of mixed emotions, but I left Bennington feeling a great deal of pride and admiration for who my grandfather was. I have been very blessed with a wonderful family and I can only hope to carry on that good name by being the best person I know how.
In the past, I've put a lot of stress on myself in the process of trying to succeed in career pursuits as well as personal ambitions like running. I've had many forms of struggle along this path and the road to success has not been smooth. As I returned to Boston that week, I remembered the realization that I'd be much more successful if I focused on enjoying those personal pursuits more than making them obstacles hurdle over. Focus on quality more than quantity. This is not a new realization, but something I have tried to be more aware of in my everyday life over the last few years. This is obviously a balance that everyone has to deal with. I'm not saying that the last three months have been drastically different than the previous three months, but I've tried to remember that being a pleasant person and doing the right thing for yourself and those around you can go a long way.
I am running more consistently these days and I have many goals and passions in mind regarding many aspects of my life. A lot has happened in the last 3 months and I'm certainly not back to where I was or where I want to be, but I am getting closer. I'm in a new house in Lexington and ready to enjoy a great summer. What I don't want to do is get so overwhelmed that I cannot enjoy the qualities of what I am doing and why I am doing it. If I continue to work on this, I am confident I will be successful... Someday!
"Cause sometimes we don't really notice
Just how good it can get
So maybe we should start all over
Start all over again."
- Rob Thomas, "Someday"
Stay tuned and I promise it won't be another 3 months before my next post!
