Early riser, a badass friend, and travelers

Mary Oliver's timeless poem, Why I Wake Early parallels some of my own reasons for being an early riser. I'm well-seasoned for pre-dawn which made the sunrise at Devils Lake this weekend approachable. Plus I have an internal need to get out of the city regularly; it restores me and natural beauty is like a slow-drip drug for a smooth, even temperament.  I know Katie, my go-to girlfriend for all things private and in-the-moment-must-share-with-her, went to Levis Mound.  Most pics between us are are sworn to friendship secrecy but this one of her at Levis Mound meets a different criteria, not one of secrecy but of freakin' badass.

Levis Mound Neillsville, WI

Sometimes I feel like I don't wake up until I'm a mile into my run and sometimes my circadian rhythm is a blessing, and sometimes it's a pain.  I wonder what it would be like to have a different one.  I mean, I don't feel married to #catchingsunrises but I do feel committed to it now.  And it's the commitment that's the real deal, the times when I just wanna do something else other than meet the running goal but then I remember life's broad strokes in the sky can transform and I get my ass out the door and just do it, thanking my circadian rhythm for bringing me daily morning joy.

this morning on monona bay 

Talk about commitment.  These three along with the Matson fam teamed up for a trip to DC.  Misa and John-Pio got home last night from Door County only to turnaround and leave this morning at 6am with the Matson fam - so thankful for them!  Let this be the first to cross off their list of top ten places to see together - a list they created 2 years ago.  I'm pretty psyched they're starting early, building suitcase packing skills and all.

#birthfriends #literally

In other news, I'm deep into the Greater Madison Writing Project  which comes on the heels of the Hip Hop in the Heartland Institute, so I've been a little of everything but mostly introspective and collaborative.  Narrative work - and if you know some things about narratives, I'm not talking just personal ones - is intense and demands truth but writing can take you to where you're supposed to be and uncover and discover stuff, and that journey is what can make me a better teacher and friend, wife, daughter, and mom.  At least it's why I do it.

My dad's here!  He's cooked every day and even opened my beer or poured my wine as I walked in the door.  Those of you who know me well know it takes effort to be around crowds and the truthful joke is "you know Vera won't go if there's more than 5 people." Well my dad wanted to check out Atwood Fest and I did alright while there even though it was  blacktop hell, but I surveyed the crowd and the music was okay and I like it when my family gets to see the things that make Madison summers so awesome.  In exchange, I went to mass where the priest used the word providence intermittently, a word I haven't really ever used contextually or by itself, but I understood his message as: have confidence in your ability to live with intention.  I think that's a good message.

Hope you can get outside and play this week!

Hip Hop and Running to catch suns rising

All things hip hop this week with the Hip Hop in the Heartland Institute which included an impressive line-up of hip hop scholars talking reality pedagogy that was innovative and relevant and reflective.  Provocative thinking both deep and on-the-surface, my brain and heart were slingshots pinging away asking questions, remembering stories, and ultimately, story-telling to a captive audience.  It was deep shit.  The finale was, well, actually every day was a finale it seemed.  Because the material and content were just so good - every moment was heightened.  I think the best part though was Time for writing and listening to narratives.  There's still a lot to process which I plan to do this next week so I'll write a highlight later for my fellow educators along with resources and ideas I bullet pointed with y'all in mind. 

Along with kids going in two different places, not to mention Brad traveling Monday through Friday, I still prioritized daily sunrises.  In the past three or so months I think what I've come to believe about sunrises is that I get to meet each one from wherever I am, and I leave each one behind a little changed - for the better, I think. 

Yesterday's sunrise (Thursday) - radical reflection. 

This happened last Sunday when in persistent spirit of pushing through something hard, I ran my first of three 17-milers in pursuit of my 51 Birthday Challenge.  I didn't suck too much because I feel good about my running in general, but 17 miles sucked.  Big time.  I mean, who runs 17 miles and stops?  Anyway,  I'll be 51 in 31 days so I'm running every single day for 51 days.  I'm also running three 17 milers in 51 days.  It's mental.  Alright, here's what a portion of that 17 miler looked like: 

around Monona Bay

just as I got to mile 14 and wanted to quit I spotted this shirt laying on ground JUST LIKE THIS street-side #nojoke

ran by Emma's place - this ominous mansion and I pretended she yelled out "keep it up Ver-Ver"

 

 

My favorite part of the run though was the unexpected sighting of THAT SHIRT! It was like I just showed up doing what the universe wanted which was not to give up, and there it was.

#keepmoving

This sight also stood out to me when I did two loops on the Picnic Point trail - I've always loved that trail because of its crystal silence.  Because it gives me the option of hearing the sky, feeling the soft ground and I especially like being on the lookout for swaying willows.  Hope everyone's getting out there, hope everyone has a goal or two. 

sun rose; now just me pounding the trail