Love for Boston

This morning I was thinking good thoughts for my fitness mentor, personal trainer and (above all else) friend, Amanda, as she competed in the Boston Marathon.  I was so proud of her for overcoming the health obstacles she has faced during her training and was so impressed she had made the qualifying time.  Little did I know that a few short hours later I would be hearing harrowing reports of explosions near the finish line and wonder if she was one of the victims.

I am lucky to count the number of times I have really been worried about a friend's life on one hand.  Today, as I heard reports about the injured runners and spectators, I immediately thought of Amanda and her family.  I pulled up Facebook to check if she'd posted anything since the explosions and was preparing to send her a text message to check in on her when I saw on my newsfeed that she and her family were safe and sound and away from the danger zone.  Relief.  Completely and total relief.

I posted on my Facebook tonight: "I am so thankful that my Boston marathoner is safe, and my heart goes out the families and friends who weren't so lucky today."

After getting home this evening, I began pouring over the articles, images and video from the scene.  Nothing was more horrific than the video and images of the young man who had both legs blown off below the knee- his left tibia was exposed several inches where the flesh had completely been taken off before abruptly ending.  To say the scene was gruesome would not do it justice.

The thought that an 8-year old boy lost his life sickens me.  That child had his entire life ahead of him and thanks to the sociopath(s) behind this terrorism his bright future has been snuffed out.  How unbelievably tragic.  Just heart-wrenching.

Then there is this... the complete lack of humanity from the Westboro Baptist Church whose parish is threatening to boycott the funerals of the victims because they believe the bombings are directly related to Massachusetts's gay marriage laws.  WTF Westboro?  What is wrong with you!?  I believe in a forgiving God, a compassionate God, a God that would NOT kill an 8-year old boy because of gay-marriage laws.  It makes me sick.

And as I sat here venting to Sam about the horror that happened today, he looked at me and said, "Things like this happen all the time."  I was outraged.  I was offended.  And then I realized he speaks the truth.  Everyday Sam sees patients who have experienced tragedy- often at the fault of someone else.  Victims of car accidents, fireworks, stupid horseplay, etc. who watch their entire life change in an instant.  And many of those people are no different than the Boston marathoners; just going about their lives and then BAM- nothing will ever be the same.  Talk about putting things into perspective.  Right?  Makes my problems seem so insignificant!

So tonight, I am thankful for the health and safety of my loved ones in Boston and around the world.  I am thankful for the people who tended to the wounded and who sought to clear the area of other potentially harmful devices.  The ray of hope we experience in crisis is the humanity we see in the 'helpers'.

A Single Step

It's 5 AM, & Hunter and I are off.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Hunter's First Run

Just after our run

Life has been hectic lately to say the very least.  Sam has been a wonderful help and does his best to take over caring for Hunter and cleaning up around the apartment.  Honestly, I don't think I would be nearly as successful juggling the launch of my new career, passing my classes, and maintaining my sanity if not for Sam.  

Things at work are picking up- we are looking forward to launching our new website in the next couple of days, I am working on our social media and preparing a Business Case for funding requests to throw a social media launch ribbon cutting ceremony.  This is all extremely rewarding, but it has meant a lot more time devoted to work while I'm at home.  Hunter has been quite a trooper, often times curling up in my lap (where he is now) or at my feet while I finish up documents or emails from our "home office" aka guest bedroom.  

Unfortunately, he's been taking his lacking interactions out on our furniture.  Hunter likes to chew exactly the same spots on my parents old dining room table as our first family dog, Brandy, liked to chew.  And he's starting to gnaw on the leather couch's corners and our chairs.  Sam attributes this to his boredom and I attribute it to attention seeking.  

Catching his breath

The cure?  I decided that at almost 7 months (he will be on May 1st) it's time Hunter started learning how to run with me.  Granted, I know he's still a baby and he won't be able to go for long distances or times, but we might as well start getting him used to it now.  

Today was day one: As long as Hunter didn't trip me I was going to call it a success.  It was a SMASHING success.  The little guy LOVED running and was outpacing me almost the whole time.  Also, while we were running he was so much less interested in stopping every 15 feet to sniff and smell.  I did let him to his business before we started running, so that probably helped, but we really didn't stop once while we were at jogging pace.  One time Hunter did dart in front of me as we were passing another dog, but I kind of saw it coming and was prepared to side step and redirect him.  

Just before he climbed into my lap

Best of all, when we got home he was SO much better behaved.  Not that Hunter's a bad puppy, but like our trainer says, he gets very frustrated when he doesn't get his way.  Example: I moved our laundry basket because he figured out that he could steal underwear out of it.  He barked and barked and barked until he figured out how to beat my system.  Tonight, he made far fewer attempts to misbehave and seemed to be seeking much less playtime attention.  Yes, he wanted to cuddle in my lap but that's completely different than chewing on my shoes or the couch.  

End result: I am going to check with the vet that we're not endangering his joints and ask about restrictions to how much vigorous activity is ok at his age, but running thing is likely to become a part of our weekly routine!