Happy Veterans Day Dad

For my Dad who served in Vietnam...



A Soldier's Lament
By Clem H. Block (1914-2004)
(My grandpa who served in World War II)

I don't want to be a soldier,
I don't want to fight another war,
I don't care to give my life blood
for the ballyhoo we've heard so many times before.

I don't care to be a hero,
Shoot and kill a human score,
Medals may be good for boy scouts,
But not for killing in a war.

Pittance pay for dirty fighting,
Munition makers get the loot,
Overtime for making bullets,
Pittance pay for those who shoot.

Politicians, Generals, listen,
Time grows shorter by the minute,
We may kill another million,
But our hearts and souls aren't in it.

Every life is precious somewhere,
Soldiers die as hours flee,
Death means more than just a headstone,
Time is fleeting- can't you see.

Draw a halt to all this bloodshed,
Call a truce no conference please,
Listen to the call of reason,
Bring us back from overseas.

Bring us back while we are living,
Too late now to help the dead,
Send us to our dearest loved ones,
For this now our prayers are said.

Love,
Jenny

My life in photos

The past month has been the busiest season I've had in years. I moved, went to Wisconsin twice, circumnavigated Lake Michigan (Detroit to Chicago to Milwaukee to northern Wisconsin through the upper peninsula of Michigan to Traverse City and back to Detroit), went on a staff retreat to Indiana, went to a conference in Chicago, another one in Detroit, celebrated my niece's 1st birthday, my dad's 62nd birthday and tried to work between in all. It's all been great and failed to burn me out, much to my surprise.

This fall is proving already to be packed with activities, parties, classes, and one big exciting trip to LA with Nick for my dear friend Jess's wedding in October.

Here's a quick photo summary of the past month or so:

The busyness started with a staff retreat to Indiana. We went for the 2nd year in a row to one of my co-worker's parent's renovated farm house. (Complete with 4 floors, an elevator, plenty of flat-screened TVs, it's own pond, and field of cows.)

Everyone on the retreat brought their immediate family along.
This is one of the 6 children who came along- Nora on the porch swing with me watching the sunset.

1st trip to Wisconsin: waaaay up north in Wisconsin. At his grandparent's cottage on a lovely lake, Nick tests his snorkeling mask for later.

Out boating with his Grandpa

On the lake: Nick's mom and grandma

Driving through the upper peninsula of Michigan-
stopping to explore the beach and lighthouse

Keeping the sand on the beach.

2nd trip to Wisconsin for a wedding
(In this photo: Bethany, Nick's sister-in-law, his brother Chris, his sister Melissa, Nick and me)

Ahh, the wedding dance floor. There's nothing like a good slow dance
under the laser beam lights and disco ball.

"It's Suntory time" (Bill Murray, Lost in Translation)

Why I really like going to Milwaukee...visiting my favorite coffee shop; Alterra.

Irish at Irish Fest.

Molly turns 1

She's got an addiction for stair climbing
(Also in photo: Grandma & pa and brother Fritz)

62 years young

My family got him a tandem bike for his birthday (me and Dad)

And finally...a quick snap of the kitchen in my new pad, which I am sharing with 2 other fine ladies. It's cheap, comfortable, and convenient (literally around the block from my old apt.).

Whew.

I run because I can't stop and because I can

People often ask me why I run. This question is difficult for me to answer. 90% of the time it's not fun- it hurts, I'm too tired, the weather isn't ideal, it's too dark out too soon, and the list of excuses goes on and on. But on occasion the 10% fun shows up in a major way.

I'm 2.5 weeks away from running my 5th half marathon. I'm running in the Detroit Half Marathon on October 21st. It is almost one year to the day from when I completed the Chicago Marathon- one of the most life changing experiences I've ever had. Since then, running has meant so much more to me. Completing the Chicago Marathon was a total God thing. My weak little mind and body could have never done it without him. That's why it was so moving for me. As I recall some of the precious moments of that race- my favorite one comes to mind:
(besides my dad joining me for a few seconds to cheer me on like in this photo at mile 25- I can't believe I had the energy to smile and wave! click to see a bigger version) The best moment for me was the last quarter of a mile of the whole race. There was one last little hill to cross over a bridge in downtown Chicago. The crowd was getting thicker and thicker along the sidelines of the course. At the same time they were getting quieter than the previous 26 miles- they all seemed to be watching each of us carefully as we were feeling and showed signs of being the most exhausted we've ever felt in our lives. I took off my ipod ear buds to take it all in. The sight of the thousands of spectators was almost too much for me and I began to tear up, but quickly stopped because I could barely breath. I managed my way over the hill and made the last turn from Michigan Ave. onto Columbus. My heart nearly stopped because there in the near distance was the glorious, most spectacular finish line. Suddenly I heard the crowd again- they were so supportive, it was almost like they were all my dear friends and family shouting out my name (I had my name stuck on my chest on a piece of duct tape- a common marathoner practice- people call you out by name- so very helpful during those last painful miles). I couldn't believe it was over. I had been running for 5 hours and 3 minutes, stopping only to use a port-a-john 2 times and slowed down to drink water at a few water stations.

Here is a great photo of me crossing the finish line (the time is 17 minutes off because it took me and my friends that long to even reach the starting line because of the massive crowds of runners). I'm not going to begin to go into detail about the amount of instantaneous pain I was in the very moment I stopped running. I eventually healed though.

My point is all this- I do love to run. As I ran one of my training runs last night, I hit a point where it felt soooooooooo good, I was cruising along. I was about half way through a 5 mile run. I could feel myself going faster and faster without even trying. Near the 4.5 mile mark I suddenly noticed I was almost in a full on sprint. Suddenly I was home and realized I ran 5 miles in record time. Wow. How does my body do what it does? Again, a God thing.

I can't wait until the Detroit race. I can't wait to run through the streets of downtown and all the little neighborhoods around it. I can't wait to see the crowds. I can't wait to be a part of that again. Chicago is such a special place to me now- but running in Detroit? Mmmmmm. The city is already so special to me...it's going to be such a treat.

Now here's an invitation. Come cheer me on. Come watch people achieve their goals- it's a guaranteed inspiring event for all. As I study the course map I think one of the best places to be as a spectator is just outside of the Detroit-Windsor tunnel on the US side. We race across the Ambassador Bridge into Canada and come back over via the tunnel at about mile 9. Waiting outside the tunnel is a good spot because then you've got about 30-40 minutes until I'm nearing the finish line right in the heart of downtown at Campus Martius- a short walk from the tunnel.

Knowing that friends and family are in the crowd somewhere makes the run even more fantastic! Please come! I'll send out more info as the day approaches, but it's on Sunday, October 21st. The race starts at 7:15am and I expect to finish between 9:45 and 10am.

Until then, I'm still training with a heart of excitement and true appreciation for being blessed with the ability to run and run and run and run and run.

Gooooooood Morning Giza!

Tonight I completed my goal of scanning selected photos from my life and my family for my super spectacular photo wall. Here's a few more previews. (Other previews can be seen in this post.)

Little old me and the Great Pyramids of Giza just outside of Cairo, Egypt

My dad in the Army...somewhere in Vietnam

Stay tuned for the real deal on my real wall. Just days until the unveiling. Please control your excitement.