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Four Somethings for August


January 2018 Share Foru Somethings #ShareFourSomethings

Thanks to Laurie from Meditations in Motion, I discovered a new link up started by blogger Heather Gerwing. The last Monday of each month, Heather invites other bloggers to share their “Four Somethings”: Something Loved, Something Said, Something Learned, Something Read. If you are a blogger, you may post your Four Somethings too!

So here are mine:

Something Loved.

Time spent with my Russian friend Anna.  We met in 2002, when I stayed with her in Kursk as part of a teacher exchange visit.  I stayed with her again in 2004 and 2006 but fortunately through the years, she has come to the US many times and we have stayed in touch.

in 2006 during my last trip to Russia

Well, this month, I got to spend the weekend with her.  I LOVED it!

Something Said.

We have had a very hot, humid rainy August.  My runs have been shortened, slow and often filled with more walking than running. My confidence was dwindling and then a runner friend said to me (in FB):

 You’re strong and determined. You’ll be ready for your half.

Every now and then, you need someone to booster you back up where you belong.

Thanks Judy.

This same person (when another runner friend apologized for her “slow pace”) also said:

One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.

I love that and it’s so true.

Something Learned.

I learned that you never know who you will inspire.

Back to Anna. When I visited her in Russia (2002, 2004, 2006), neither one of us were runners.  Anna was very much into fashion.  She only wore nice clothes and nice shoes.  In fact in 2010 when she came to visit me, she got blisters from walking around NYC in those “nice” shoes so she had to borrow my sneakers. And she made me crop them out of every photo.

Then in September 2012 when she came to visit, I was running a race and she wanted to come watch.

She was very excited about the race, took lots of pictures and even a video of me running.

Fast forward to September 2016, again we met in NYC and now she is wearing running shoes!!

img_1961

This is what she emailed me:

You’ll be surprised to learn I took up running as well.  I think it happened largely due to my watching you run that early early morning in the park.

Definitely a proud parent moment!!

During that day in NYC, I told her about a race that I had run there the previous November.

You know where this is going.  The next thing I know, she is flying back into NYC to run that same race with me.  She even invites two Russian friends (one lives in Chicago and one in DC) to run the race too.

We had a blast and Anna & I even went running again together the next day.

along the Hudson River, NYC

Two years later, she has returned once more to the US and we planned to spend the day together in NYC before she returned to Russia. Her idea, not mine, was to run a race together. Unfortunately, due a thunderstorm, the race got cancelled.

Something Read.

I love to read. And I try to read a little each day and even more when I travel.  One of favorites of the month was:

Image result for aj fikry

It’s basically a story of transformation and second chances,  I could definitely relate.  When times are at their lowest, you never know what will surprisingly turn your life around. For AJ Fikry, it was a mysterious package that arrived at his bookstore. For me, it was tennis that transformed me into an active person, introduced to a new husband, many wonderful friends and eventually to running!

Happy Running! What are your FOUR somethings?  Share at least ONE.

26 thoughts on “Four Somethings for August”

  2. Dina had commented on my blog; she was running 1812 too, but I didn’t have a way to contact her to meet up, though I tried.

    About 2 miles into the race I saw a woman run/walking ahead of me & called out Dina? And it was. She wanted to know how I knew. I just had a feeling. We ran together for several miles & we had so much in common!

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    • That’s great to have company during a big race. I’ve only run one half along side someone else and it made the race more fun. I had several local friends I think that were there yesterday. Elisa was one but she was injured so she was volunteering.

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  10. Oh, I love this link up! How fun!

    I read The Woman In Cabin 10. It was eh. I haven’t found something really amazing to read in quite some time.

    I learned that it’s a lot harder to paint a boulder than it looks. It’s not something I want to repeat in the near future.

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  12. I love that you were able to reconnect with your friend from Russia! That’s so cool.

    This week my ‘something read’ was part of a blogging course I’m taking! I love learning more in this field.

    Liked by 1 person

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