Gawd. Sometimes life seems so friggin’ difficult. Even when when you show gratitude, try to see the bright-side, silver lining, la-ti-da…
Yesterday I woke up after a shitty sleep (full-moon apparently) and talked my Mom into a walk. She wanted to walk “somewhere different”. On my bike ride the previous day, I noticed a trail head marker and thought, “Oh – that looks nice.” So we drove the 15kms to get there. Just before we arrived, a little black bear crossed the road in front of us and went toward the general vicinity of where we would be walking. “Oh great I thought. Now I will never get her out of the car.”
Confidence is the key. I had my bear spray and alarm thingy and I acted fearless. He was just a little guy anyway. This made my Mom feel better I think. She’s funny. She lags WAY behind when she is nervous (of bears). I turned around and said, “Mom, the bear is going to be closer to you than me at this point if you don’t move your ass.”
So we hiked along this beautiful trail and then it ends. Just fucking ends. Six-hundred metres and no more trail. So we back-track towards the bear. Nope – this is heavy grassed in old road. Pull out my phone and look up the East Shore Trails site. No trail maps where we are. So I took some photos of the trail posts for later.
Anyway – we only got in about a 1.3km walk. Then drove all the way back. Pffftttt… so mad.
So I decided I needed a little cat-nap. Then I would head for home.
Packed up – feeling a tiny bit more refreshed and hit the road. This is no small feat with my packing methods.
Got just over half-way home and there had been an accident. A logging truck was driving too fast around some deep corners and flipped on its side. The fire department was turning everyone around and saying 2-3 hours before opening. FML – like seriously!?!?! Do you know how much I hate driving places? I am a serious motion narcoleptic. If its moving, I am sleeping. It takes sheer mental strength for me to drive anywhere.
So back out to the lake I go. I get there an hour and twenty minutes later. Unpack my shit. Throw on some grubs and grab my bear spray – again – and head for a walk. I was planning on a workout at home and a walk. So the walk would have to suffice.
I get about 7 minutes in and I’m getting eaten alive by fucking mosquitos. I forgot to spray myself or I should say – bathe myself in 98.5% deet. I had long leggings on and a tank. I thought (for a brief moment) – “Fuck it! I don’t care – eat me you little pieces of shit.” Ok – I lasted 7 more minutes and five of them were me running as fast as I could back to the house.
So I went in, slammed the door and drank a bottle of wine and chowed back a bunch of that lemon loaf I posted about yesterday. Might as well get fat.
I went to bed early and decided I needed some over-the-counter assistance with my wine. I slept like a baby. Woke up at 7:00am and was ready to roll.
Looked out the window – rain. Wind. Well, its going to be a wet run – but its happening.
So I put on my shorts and a long sleeve top. Grabbed my bear belt and went to have some coffee with Mom and Dad. The weather didn’t look too ominous. It certainly wouldn’t melt me.
I headed out. Mom says, “oh Dad says he thinks its moving north-west”. Perfect! So, I ran.
Holy mother of god. It rained. I smiled. I was soaked. It was beyond cathartic. No. Fucking. Mosquitos.
Anyway, the point here is that sometimes you just have to show up. We all have road blocks, bad days and eight-hundred excuses. Those excuses get in the way of living a full life. Your best life. That run in the rain, the water literally dripping off my face, soaked clothes, the smell of the lake and the greenery was amazing. Something I would have totally missed out on if I had let the rain be an excuse.
Sometimes you just need to suck it up. Show up! Quit making goddamn excuses and live your life. Your best life. You only get one try. Lace up and go.
