Race for the Cure

My sister fought breast cancer this year and kicked its butt. She ran a 10k in the middle of her radiation treatment, which I thought was pretty awesome.

So this fall both my sisters and I signed up for our local Race for the Cure. We ended up running and walking with my niece and cousin, and my sister's sister-in-law.

As we prepared for the race, we saw many groups of people with matching shirts, celebrating or memorializing someone's fight. Some people listed one name on their shirt. Some listed many. It was so amazing to see all the support. I had to stop reading people's shirts after the first mile because I was starting to cry and that makes it really difficult to run.

My favorite thing about this race: Everyone was wearing pink somewhere. (It made it hard to find people. After I finish a race, I usually go back and cheer for everyone else as they finish. We couldn't find my cousin because we missed her pink shirt.)  All the survivors got pink t-shirts.  My sister hated pink.  Anything she saw in pink, she would say 'yech!'

But this shirt, she wanted the pink one.

I'm so thankful she got one.

Content or Complacent?

August was supposed to be a month of down time before the twins started school.  A chance for them to get potty training under control and for us to relax and enjoy the summer. It didn't happen that way.

My husband was offered a job on the other side of the state.  It promised many advantages, but our gut reaction was no way.  We didn't want to move. But things kept happening that made us consider the opportunity.

We talked ourselves in circles - the advantages of going, what we'd miss if we left.  We made lists.  We talked to people in both areas.  We talked to a realtor. We asked for prayers.

Through each discussion, we'd come back to one question: are we content or complacent?

Are we complacent because we aren't willing to change the things that are easy for us? We live in a small town where we can walk or bike to the library, several parks and our children's school.  We have a good network of friends, church and doctors. We've remodeled our house and yard and finally have them how we want them. My husband's current commute to work is a mile and a half on his bike. He comes home for lunch. Should we be seeking to challenge ourselves and step outside our comfort zone?

or

Are we content because we are in the place we are supposed to be?

Finally a conversation with my husband's brother helped us come to a final decision.  He said if my husband wasn't excited about the job, it wasn't worth it. And that's what it came down to.  We knew that if he was more excited about the job, the lingering questions we had wouldn't have made a difference to our decision.

While we haven't made any changes, but we feel a lot better about where we are.  If another opportunity arises, we have a better understanding of what it would take to pick up and move. (and if we forget, we can dig out the legal pad with the pro and con columns.)

We are content

Blessed

I often look at others and wonder how did everything work out so well for them.  Their job, their house, their college scholarships, and it all seems better than where I'm standing.  The grass is always greener and all that.

I really should check out my own grass from across the fence.

My husband was able to find a job in our small town after college.  He commutes a mile each way and rides his bike weather permitting.  He also gets to come and see us all at lunch.

My children are smart and healthy, if willful and independent. I am hoping this means good things in regards to peer pressure later.  I suppose it also means that they are products of their genetics.  It's fun to watch their imaginations as they play and wonder if my husband and I were the same way.

We have enough food to not eat everything in our cupboards. We don't have to eat the Spanish rice or the cans of navy beans.  (Who bought those anyway?) We can even order pizza and breadsticks occasionally.

I get to stay home with my kids all day.  I don't have to work outside the home to help support our family. And I get to write.  My husband puts up with me typing away on the computer or scribbling in a notebook in my free time.

Sometimes it's hard to see our blessings without stepping across the fence and looking at our lives from the outside.

Wishing you all a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!