My children, all of them, when starting something new, need to set goals or “event experiences” to have something to work towards for reward, it seems to be pretty difficult to do something for nothing. I remember this from my younger life but have forgotten that it was important. I wanted Michellie, my oldest daughter, to start running. I knew she needed and would benefit from a mental place to go to, of meditation, rhythm and reward. There is no membership to pay or club to join, you just open your front door, step outside and you are there. But, she wanted to sign up for a night time run, it was a paint run with glow sticks and blacklights throughout, with DJ’s blasting music all along the course. Knowing that it would worry me with her alone, running at night, in Phoenix, I signed up to run with her. I couldn’t remember the last time I stood in a large group of people with my hands in the air, jumping up and down to DJ Diego yelling at us, while playing chest thumping music that I had not heard before. It’s… what I don’t dream of but I love my daughter.
I have started and stopped running throughout my entire life. Start, stop, start, stop. I don’t mean to stop, life just takes over. Babies, moving, jobs, lack of energy. I’m one of those people that as soon as I stop exercising, I turn into a lump. So when running drifts back into my life, I need to grab onto that branch and save myself once again. I had started walking when my oldest son Zach came home from the military and Afghanistan. The walking worked into jogging and had helped us both once again.
My mind gets clearer, my energy increases and my food intake is thoughtful not desperate. It’s encouraging and inspiring just to know I’m working to learn more about me and be open to improving myself at any age.
As I am watching my daughter at this Paint/Blacklight run, she is on the edge of this enormous mob of people who are dancing and screaming and throwing paint in the air. She wanders in, squeezing herself fearlessly into this ferocious moving monster of base beating happy people. She has been swallowed by the beast. I am waiting to walk to the starting line wondering when she will save herself and get spit out. Instead I hear one familiar voice scream “MoMMMM!” Scanning the crowd I am looking for her, then I spot her, waving her hands in the air…She’s on top of someone’s shoulders! 5 different colors of paint screaming! “Take a picture of meeeeeee!!”
Cost of this experience…
Priceless
I think she’ll be just fine.