In a Town This Size

In a town this size, you know dogs as well as you know their owners.
The person you need magically appears at the library.

All of your friends happen to go sledding at the same time.

The car letting you cross the street knows you from church.
Going to the market means walking and chatting along the way.
Your kids would have the same rules at any one else's dinner table.

It's a little bit farmers market, a little bit contra dance.
Ok, maybe too much contra dance.
It's a little bit new money, a little bit no money.
It's a lot of open space.

Fields and forests and hills and dales.
Everyone knows every house because the property is as part of the town as the people.
Deer, rabbit, horses, turkey, bear, an occasional moose.

It's 4th of July Fireworks that make you wonder,
Who on earth pays for all of that extraordinary bang?
It's a Road Race in spring.

In a town this size, there is a friendly back and forth with the curmudgeonly gentlemen in the paper.
A tree lighting ceremony at Christmas.
Where the old butcher whose last name is Blood, makes an impassioned speech for the schools.

It's a little bit creative new ideas.
It's a little bit earthy, grounded, aging hippy.
It's a little bit almost everything you'd ever want coffee shop, but nestled in a strip mall.

Bees, chickens, gardens, syrup, jam
Homestead, homespun, homemade
It's a little bit Martha, its a little bit Joni Mitchell.

In a town this size, if you lose your dog, someone is saying a prayer for his safe return.
It's Lavender Lemonade in summertime.
Quiet, but for the clock striking the hour and the birds that sing.

Photo courtesy of  The Groton Line

An Exercise in Commitment

Tenacity. Discipline. Focus. Drive. Get up and go. These things are all hard for me. There is usually something that gets in my way, as in, OK, that's good enough! I'm done. I let myself off the hook fairly readily. While in many ways, this might be a useful tactic, it's not much for goal setting. Which is why I finally signed up for a half marathon.

The race for me is less a practice in actual running, but more an exercise in doing something difficult and really doing whatever it takes to achieve that goal.  Sticking with it. Even when I don't feel like it. This is the challenging part, yet I believe will make the accomplishment even more meaningful.  Sure, the long runs will be painful.  But so is organizing my life around this schedule.  Making this a priority.  Making the commitment.  Putting things first.

  I also believe that I cannot ask other people in my life to do extremely difficult things without putting in a little effort myself. It's hard to ask my son to put more effort into his writing, if I am not following suit. If I want my students to push through their anxieties, their perfections, I should be willing to do this as well.  So its also an exercise in setting a positive example and gaining empathy for the struggle.

One of the best parts about training, I'm finding, is that there are so many ways to feel good about each small step.  I made it out on schedule. I completed the distance I was hoping for. I'm getting stronger.


So how's it going?  So far, pretty good, actually.  When you allow yourself the space to say, "This is really important to me and I'm going to make it happen," its surprising how things fall into place.  That being said, I'm also on summer vacation and have set running as my primary goal. There was a day last week when I was meant to get up a five am, but I was just too sleepy.  I did feel badly, though, most of the day, that I didn't find a way to push through.
 

I saw wild turkeys this morning. 

When this six months is finished, I may continue on.  I may not. The time limit helped in framing things. I can do anything for six months.  I can do anything.