Realize your goal is to figure out your role within the context of the whole.

I Like Giants - Kimya Dawson

I like this song for many reasons, but I have been singing it a lot lately, especially this part, "So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything"

My arms are sore. How sore? Sore sore. My shoulders mostly. I raced Mr. Carlson at the pool last night and it was killer. Before I tell the story of the race, I guess I should explain who Mr. CArlson is.... His daughter played basketball at the high school for me years and years, and even years ago. I saw him at the gym a while back and while chit chatting he mentioned that he swims in the mornings. I told him I swam at night, he didn't know people were swimming at night, so since then he has been swimming Mondays and Wednesdays. But unlike me, he swims hard for one mile then leaves. I swim, stop, talk, swim, stop, adjust my goggles, etc. etc. Last night We stopped around the same time, me to catch my breath, him because he was done with his mile. We talked for a few minutes and then I challenged him to a race. He is tall and strong, and a really good swimmer. But you know me, I am uber competitive.... Let's Race! He laughed but agreed. Seriously folks, we swam so fast! I have never swam that fast my whole life. I swam like a was being chased by the mythical pool shark. When we finished in what he calls a victory for me, but I think was a tie, we both were so amazed at how fast we just swam. Even my friend Teresa couldn't believe how fast we zoomed. We then decided to race one more time and that was an easy victory for him, but again, we swam SO fast.

It was nice to re-charge my competitive spirit. The fuel of competition, my favorite fuel!

It all brings me back to this small town. I love it here. I love it for many reasons, but I love that my 8 years here have brought some of the most fantastic people into my life. I love that I am getting to know the people I work out with, the people at the pool, and the people in this community. I love that my work enables me to build relationships within the community, it is a wonderful feeling.

*Deep breath* I am lucky. I am so lucky. I have the most amazing family and the best friends a girl could ask for.

That being said, Rachel; I think it is time we started, to kind of sort of run. I was thinking we run the shorts walk the longs of the 'hood and see how that goes. When I get home from vacay. In the evenings now that my evening programs are all over. I could do it on my own, but I don't want to. I think we should do it together. It will be more fun that way. Plus we can spend more time together like that.