Guest Blogger: The Christmas Tree writes about magnifying your talents

I’m happy to be writing this guest post today for Carol.  After all, it’s my season to shine! I stay tucked away in storage for eleven months, but when December rolls around I get to exercise my talents to their fullest.  I have only a few, but that doesn’t stop me from making an impact on the lives of those around me. I try to do my best and so should you.

Let’s look at what I do well …

Patience. I await my season with grace.  I don’t make a commotion when the Shamrock gets his turn. I let him be the star of his show. He has a rough go of it as he has to share it with the Leprechaun!

Supportive. The Christmas Lights and Ornaments attract all the attention, but without me to hold them up they would lie in a heap of confusion on the floor. As I support them, I become more beautiful!

Loyal. I keep confidences. When the mother of the house has a meltdown for taking on too many projects I listen and hold my tongue.  I don’t even tell on the children when they snoop in the packages beneath my boughs.

Fulfilled. When my turn is over I quietly snuggle back into storage until the next December. I know it is unattractive to stay longer than I am welcome!

Humble? Maybe not so much … but I am working on it!

I’d like to check in next year to see how well you have magnified your talents.  I’ll be working on humility. How about you?

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a fulfilling New Year.

The Tree

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Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

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Monday Mood Mender: Gary Learns to Skate

On this Monday Mood Mender I want to introduce my newest book, GaryLearns to Skate, a collaboration of efforts with my granddaughter, Margaret Marie Olson.  I had been delaying publishing it and waiting for just the right illustrator. Maggie often sends me her artwork as a gift or thank you. While she was visiting it occurred to me that she might be the “right illustrator” for this project. She worked hard to capture the feel of the book and I am pleased to be able to share it with you.

Skating Flamingo!

In case you have any doubts about the artistic abilities of a six year-old, take a look at this little guy!

He's cute enough to steal, but notice he has a copyright!

This is just a sample of the fun illustrations that make this book special. (It doesn't hurt that the illustrator has a special place in my heart!)

 

You can find the book, Gary Learns to Skate, in all the usual places - send me a message, or visit me on Etsy, or Amazon. Stop by my Author Page on Amazon and see what else is new!

Happy Running!

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Miles from a Runner’s Perspective

 

Becoming a runner did some funny things to my brain.  It changed my perspective on a lot of things, especially miles. I recently ran across a quote that went something like this, “You know you’re a runner if you’ve ever seen a sign indicating the miles to the next town, exit, etc. and thought – I could run that.” It’s true, I’ve had those thoughts.

Runners track miles to know when to buy new running shoes or how many days until the next race. We even use them to gauge whether or not we can eat dessert.

There are miles we don’t track because we think they don’t count.  Unlike someone who walks for exercise (and I applaud all walkers, bikers, and swimmers for getting things moving) we runners do not count every step. When a walker tells you she did three miles, you can be confident that is exactly how far she walked. If a swimmer reports a mile swim, he probably did just that.  Bikers count their miles, too.

A runner makes a strong distinction between running and walking.  Although walking is a form of exercise, we usually discount those miles. 

Let me give you an example.

My running buddy, Susan, and I went for a four mile run last week. We walked to our meeting place a few hundred yards between our homes.  Those yards don’t count because we were not officially on our run, nor had we chosen our route.  We chose a four mile loop and walked a half mile to the starting point.  That half mile doesn’t count because we were only warming up and had not started running.  The loop brought us back to the starting point and we walked the half mile cool down back to where we met earlier.  The cool down half mile doesn’t count because we were not running. Then we stretched for a few minutes and each walked another few hundred yards to our home.  We covered about 5.5 miles. We reported a four mile run.

It occurred to me that this is common practice not only amongst runners, but amongst many of us, especially women.  We often discount our efforts or talents because we don’t think they are worthy or as good as someone else’s efforts or talents. We are afraid we may not measure up to the expectations of others, or worse yet, that we will never measure up to our own expectations.

Perhaps it is time to count all the miles, all the efforts, all the talents and give them the respect they deserve.  You may discover a different perspective.  Perhaps the runner in you should accept that sometimes it’s okay to walk a few miles, because even walking is progression.

Question: What things do you discount that ought to receive greater respect?

HAPPY RUNNING!

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