Thursday, November 24, 2011

Snowbound & sad…

…Well, ambitious as I was to take the UP Cross Championship mo-jo over to Crystal MN last Saturday for the MN State Cross Championship.  Life and circumstances didn’t have the same plans.

Snow came in good abundance up North & near the lake (Superior) making travel plans less desirable.  Not to mention tensed up driving in a car for 3 1/2hrs  by yourself & then trying to have a big race doesn’t always make for the best formula for success.

Lastly, a really neat person, one of my two grandma’s passed away that weekend. It’s been along time since I last lost a grandparent, probably 20yrs, you forget how losing that part of your family feels.  I call it being heartbroken tired.  Try as you may, you just don’t have the gusto to give it your all. 

Like I said she was a neat old lady.  Endlessly superstitious and full of old wives tales.  An undereducated women of her day, I think she made it thru the 8th grade.  But when you were born in 1919, that was probably pretty good. 

In her later years she was constantly harassing me for riding and racing my bike and how I was always going to get hurt.  Just two & half months ago when I told her about crashing and breaking my ribs, I thought she was going to stroke out just reading me the riot act over that.  But that was her way of showing she cared and loved you.  The lady made incredible homemade pies, raspberry was my favorite.  I think she talked about dying for the past 20-25yrs yet no matter what her health problem she kept going.  It was something like -- you think God maybe forgot about her? 

Her illness & nursing home stay this past year really impacted me & affected how I looked at & approached life.  It was a reminder everytime I visited her how important it is to grab the moments of life and really live them.  Find the important things & people – enjoy and embrace them.  Those paths may not come your way again.

Gonna miss ya Grandma – thanks for everything, you really grew on us over the years, you earned your rest.  May you now be in peace….

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