Grandparents...

Good morning.  Hope you are having a nice Easter Sunday.  Sarah is working at the hospital this morning and Myles and I are blogging together after my nice 5.25 mile run in the misty rain.  It was a nice morning to run as the rain was gentle and not too overwhelming.  This week I ran 33.5 miles, which is my best week of the year so far.  That's three weeks in a row of 30 miles or more.  Look out. 

Grandma's Cup from Singapore:  Sarah's Birthplace

This morning I was trying to select a coffee cup to use, as all of our's are in the dishwasher.  I saw that I still had my IU Cup, a random silver cup, and then I saw a red cup with a floral design hiding behind a couple bowls.  I could not help but smile as this was one of my Grandmother's coffee cups (actually, probably a tea cup) that she acquired when she and my Grandfather lived in Singapore long ago.  Before she died, she gave me a few pieces of her China from that set.  Funny thing:  Sarah was born in Singapore.  Talk about fate.  I'm a sentimental guy in case you did not know and I love to hold onto to things from family members who have passed.  I was fortunate to have outstanding Grandparents in my life and I'm very fortunate to still have my Grandad (Speer) in my life currently.  All of them were part of the "Greatest Generation," and there is something very special about them and I've learned so much from them.  Therefore, I keep as much stuff to remind me of them in my daily life as possible.  For example, on a daily basis I carry my Grandad Gorrell's wallet that he used up until the day he died.  I've been using that wallet since 2002 and I've not purchased another one since.  I'll probably use it until the day that I die.  Right now, as I stated, I'm using my Grandmother Gorrell's tea/coffee cup.  My grandmother GiGi and Grandad Skillman used to have these rotary phones in their house into the late 90s.  I still have one of those phones and I used it all the time until I dropped our landline for a cellphone when we moved to Indiana.  I also have all of the IU Campus Photos they had in their house and they are all currently on display in my office.  My grandmother MiMi and Grandad Speer used to give me some of their dishes (first dishes I ever had in grad school and at Georgia) and I even had one of their old couches for several years.  MiMi, while I die hard UK fan, gave me a pillow one Christmas with the stitching "It's hard to be humble when your from Indiana University."  That particular pillow also sits in my office for all to see.   On Holiday's, the memories of family members are acutely present and it's nice to know that they are a part of my life on a daily basis--whether physical or spiritual. 

My three best for this week:

One, kindness of friends.  A few friends of mine displayed a ton of integrity and loyalty this week because they value me.  Enough said.

Two, RUNNING.  Specifically, I had a great conversation with Nick Estrada (a future star in Student Affairs) about running a marathon.  It's funny because I would only consider myself at a pseudo-expert level in three things:  Res Life, Running, & Indiana Basketball.  It's nice when someone who knows me in one area (in this case Res Life) gets to talk with me about something like running.  I love coaching runners of all levels and it's easy for me to talk about.  I've always thought down the line that the perfect job for me would be one that would allow me to work with college students and coach runners.  I'm sure that will be a reality in the future.

Three and most important:  SARAH.  No one is as supportive and as understanding as Sarah when it comes to me.  Her support of my running and my professional life is amazing.  I love her.

Have a great day.  Happy running to you...