MY MOM IS FASTER THAN YOUR MOM - PART 2

Well, it's official. My mom will be running in the Senior Olympics Nationals next summer. She'll be heading to California to kick some age 50 and up butt. Earl posted a comment on mom; here it is:
"Here's an update about how your mom did last week in Nashville at the Tennessee Senior Olympics. This year she ran seven races and took home seven gold medals. That gives her thirteen gold medals in two years in thirteen races-- a perfect score! She also set three state senior games records for her age group and came very close to breaking her last year records in the other four races. Congratulations, Karunrun!!!"

So as you can see, my mom is pretty awesome. I'm really happy for her and found out she will have articles written about her in the JC Press, the Athens Messenger (hometown Ohio paper), and a write up for her alma mater - Ohio University. Very cool!

MY MOM IS FASTER THAN YOUR MOM

My mom was born to be an athlete. Competition was a mainstay throughout her childhood, her teen and adult years, and now, even at the age of fifty. She has always been pretty impressive to watch. Sports are very important to her. She plays them, watches them, and even coached for a while. She lives and breaths being active. She even ran during all four of her pregnancies, big belly and all!

In high school she played as many sports as she could juggle and excelled at all of them. A few years ago she was inducted into her high school hall of fame - the only woman in her class of inductees, I might add. I was fortunate as a young woman to have a mom that could take on any man and I definitely loved to brag about it.

As my three brothers and I grew older, my mom could step away from her stay-at-home mom position and focus on being an outstanding athlete again. Not that she strayed from that athlete role too much; she still ran road races almost every weekend and brought home lots of trophies. But, last year, my mom decided to lose weight (about 30 pounds) and start training hard. All that training paid off last summer when my mom broke six records and took home six gold medals at the Tennessee Senior Olympics (she's fifty, remember?).

This weekend, my mom will head to Nashville again to see if she can break her previous state records and qualify for Nationals in California next summer. I have no doubt she'll be flying to Cali, because at the Senior Olympics, my mom is a superstar.

Having an athletic mom meant that I had to rely on my friends to teach me how to wear makeup, fix my hair, and dress like a girl, but in the scheme of things, I'm thankful that I was never "girly." I had a mom that showed me that just because I was a woman, that should never hold me back. If she could hang with the guys, and even outrun most of them, why couldn't I? It was nothing short of empowering having a mom of that athletic caliber. Even though I never had that same athletic drive and never became a star on the field, court, or track, the lessons I learned about life were far greater than any trophy.

HOW CAN I HAVE BETTER TIME MANAGEMENT?

Last summer I was content to sleep in late, watch tons of t.v., and write a little. That's probably why things didn't get done around my house; I succumbed to procrastination. I am a notorious procrastinator. This summer, I have been busy from the start and I know that if I don't organize better, I won't be prepared for the fall. This fall will bring new economic lesson plans, a new job as the high school cross country coach, and hopefully a pregnancy and interest in my book. On top of that, my house is a mess, my dog needs to be entertained, and I've been trying to reconnect with old friends and spend time with my family. I realize that I need a plan of attack.

1. Make lists.
Let's face it, if it doesn't get written down, it's probably not going to get done. The more I have to do, the more I forget what I have to do. I'm sure you know what I mean. I have found that as a teacher, I survive with a to-do list. This can also help me at home with the almost one million things I need to start or finish.
I try to organize my list so that the most crucial things go first and the things that can wait sit at the bottom. You may find it better if you put the easiest things first, so you can get the encouragement from crossing a line through them when they are completed. Either way, the act of writing it down may be the jump start you need.

2. Use a timer.
Yes, elementary school teachers use this same tactic, but believe me it works. I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a cheap kitchen timer. You know, the one that times for sixty minutes, you turn the dial, and it rings when your time is up. I think it cost me about $2.34 and its been worth every penny. I usually set the timer for a full hour. For some reason my brain works better in large chunks of time, but you may want to shorten it to fifteen or thirty minutes depending on your tasks.
I work for an hour and when the timer dings, I take a break, then set it again. It has done wonders for helping me get things done around the house. I can tell myself, "You only have to work for an hour, then you can move on." It tends to keep me from moving away from something out of boredom. Before, I would lose patience and find something else to do. Now, when I'm cleaning the house or writing lesson plans, I get a lot more done because I stick with the task.

3. Prepare in advance.
Nothing feels better than getting something done way ahead of time. This summer, I have decided to complete my lesson plans before the school year even starts. If I work now when I have the time, I can veg out a little more during the school year. I try to make myself a schedule of what needs to be completed and when, then I get to work. Every day I add something from my schedule to my list, then I spend an hour working on it. By the time school starts, I should have more free afternoons because of my preparedness. How's that for a reward?

4. Break it down.
Take large tasks and make them smaller, like in my lesson plan example above. Things can be overwhelming, but can you make them less scary by breaking them into parts? If you know you have the clean out your closet, don't make it a one day event. You may get sick of working on it and quit when you're halfway done. Instead, take small chunks at a time, maybe an hour this day, or a half-hour that day. Soon it will be done and you'll have a nice organized closet.

Believe me, I am the worst at getting things done, and my attention wanders. These ideas have helped me get so much done already. Good luck!

VACATIONING AT THE BEACH

As a child, I never really got a chance to travel much. Sure, my family moved a lot, but we never really experienced the quintessential family vacation. You know the one I'm talking about. Take a road trip to someplace fun, like Disney World, or educational, like Gettysburg. Same stereotypical events - dad yelling at kid to be quiet; kid punching annoying little brother; playing "i-spy," or some variation of keeping-the-kids-busy-so-they-don't-make-us-crazy games. It wasn't until I was grown and married that I experienced my first true vacation.

Shortly after we were married, Jonathan and I spent a week in this quiet little town called Edisto Beach in South Carolina. It was like what dream vacations were meant to be. It was quiet; it was restful; it was ideal. Every summer since that first one, we have ventured down south to spend time lounging on those quiet, almost empty beaches. Waking up in the morning, stepping onto a deck and looking out on the ocean...peace really describes it best.

One day, God willing, we will take our kids to Edisto. For now, we enjoy the time we get to spend together watching dolphins, dipping our feet in the surf, and watching the sun rise and set over the ocean.