Week one in three weeks...

That's sad, huh? I just finished "Day 3" of week one in the couch to 5K program, which is wonderful and I should feel really accomplished. The thing is, those three days (four really- I didn't have the app for one day) took me almost three weeks to complete! LAME!
I was thinking while I was running today that perhaps one day, in a few months, I will write a post and link back to these loser posts boasting about my progress and talking about the races I'm running. I'll post some pictures of me all sweaty, smiling proudly and holding up some medal to prove my triumph! I'm hopeful.

You have to understand, I'm lazy. I don't mean lazy in the "never does anything, sits around the house watching TV" lazy. I am a really hard worker, especially when it comes to doing things for my family and keeping them in line. I take a lot of pride in my profession and the work I do for my students. I'm just super lazy when it comes to doing things for me. I find excuses to not do anything. Running falls into that category. Writing falls into that category.
Today, while I was running around the track, I saw something that made me realize that my excuses are no good. That if I want to succeed it's really going to take effort, but I can do that.

Let's backstep for a moment. My dearest friend and I have three children each and they are very close in age. In fact, our first two are the same ages. Our oldest daughters are six weeks apart. Maggie visited her daughter in the hospital at six weeks old. We were so thrilled to be pregnant together again for our second round! I was due about four weeks before her. Instead, her little man came into the world two days after Mairin! He was beautiful, healthy and has Down Syndrome. We didn't get to visit him in the hospital, but we have watched him grow these last six years and we love him dearly. I've always had a very large spot in my heart for children with disabilities. Having Michael in our lives has widened that spot immensely.

The track at the gym goes around three sets of basketball courts. There is always something to watch while I run. Tonight there was a group of teenagers practicing their shots with two twenty-somethings guiding them along. There were about seven of them. Three of them had Down Syndrome. I watched them shoot shot after shot as I circled the courts. There was one boy who was hitting everything! He was working hard, and beamed after he hit three in a row! When I think about all of the things that are hard for him, my complaints seem to diminish. When I think about the possible health problems that plague children with Down Syndrome, my lazy ass just seems whiny... Seeing those boys working so hard really made my heart swell and pushed me a little harder today.

So what if it takes me two weeks longer than it's supposed to. At least I made it through the first week. I hope to get through this second week in half that time. That's not a lofty goal... it's still too long, but who cares- I'm working and no more complaints (you may need to remind me of that)!