Looking Back

2006 was a fine year for my family. My brother and his wife delivered healthy twin babies, to end a long history of trying to build a family. Our parents are all in good shape, and seem to have plenty of things to amuse themselves. Their children don't appear to be making them crazy, so that's a good thing, too. My children are both healthy and, for the most part, trouble-free. So far, impending teenager years haven't delivered too much in the way of angst for Mary Anne and me.

So, it's this time of year that I like to think about the things that make my life full and interesting. Certainly my family comes first, but there's so much more than that! The simple act of running and the pursuit of faster and stronger racing gives me more happiness than it should, perhaps. The friendships that I've made through running and through the Gazelles are wonderful, and I am grateful for each of them. Gilbert continues to be an inspiration and taskmaster, and for both of those things, I thank him.

My web of friends scattered from North Carolina to Florida to Texas to Arizona to all points in between are wonderful as well. It's still amusing to me the circumstances under which I met Jeff and Andy in North Carolina, as well as Justin in Florida. It would be great to see them more often, but I usually get to see at least Jeff and Andy twice or three times a year, and that's almost enough to tide us over for all the months in between. I'm thankful that Mary Anne still finds that a yearly trip for me to guitar camp at the Swannanoa Gathering is valuable for my mental well-being. And, most years, I get to make a fun out-of-town running trip, which for the last several years has been to the Indy Mini-Marathon in May. I'm looking forward to the 2007 edition of that race as I type.

And what about other stuff? I've gotten more enjoyment than I probably should have from Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" show on XM satellite radio each week. I enjoy making music with the Austin Guitar Ensemble, a group of classical guitarists. We meet once a week, and it's a fun exercise to learn, rehearse, and perform classical music in the area. I even have a good time teaching at the arts high school here in town during the week, in their guitar ensemble classes.

Resolutions for 2007? In running, I'd like to continue chipping away at my marathon PR, finally score lifetime PR's at 10K and 5K to wipe out those old times, and be more consistent with my training and gym work. In music, I want to learn songs. It's embarassing to break out a guitar at a party and only have 5 songs ready to play for people. Once again, I've embarked on my "Song A Week" plan, to learn a complete song, lyrics and music, each week. That will bulk up your playlist in a hurry, right? It would be good to tame the procrastination dragon in all things, too. Those are probably enough things to work on for the coming year, I think. :-)