Individual memories are so numerous and scattered that sometimes it’s easier to sum up a year by reflecting on what struck me as important enough, in the moment, to capture visually. If a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the year 2008 in 12,000 words.
January:
A milestone: no longer obese. I hit seventy-five pounds lost that month.
February:
Despite Snowmageddon, I ran my first 8K and survived.
March:
Started getting twinges of Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) in my knee, though it would take some time to figure out what it was. Interestingly, Cory had the same thing around the same time; where his doctors treated him surgically, mine sent me for physical therapy, and I had swift improvement that way.
April:
We have wet spring seasons in these parts, thanks to very snowy winters, but by spring, we’ve been cooped up for so long that we don’t mind heading out into the puddles and mud. Sam had lots of Scouting activities that suited this need well, including a trip to an alpaca farm. No yarn to be had though.
May:
My Mother’s Day gift this year was a jogging stroller: a very apt illustration of my newer, more get-up-and-go style of parenting. Nearly every week, all summer long, we took it out on a long walk to the Farmer’s Market, which became a lovely routine for me and the boys.
June:
My newly-seven-year-old son and I (and the rest of the family) participated in the Lighthouse Run; I did the 10-mile, and they did the 2-mile. Then Sam ran the Kids’ Dash and got a ribbon!
July:
Sue me; I couldn’t decide.
In July, I won my first age-group medal in a race (26:14 for a cross-country 5K), and my parents came to visit and taught Sam to ride his bike without training wheels. I don’t have pictures to remember it, but I’ll also remember that the reason I wasn’t out there pushing Sam myself is that July, and the beginning of August, saw the stupid medical mystery of the Amazing Disappearing Free Air in my abdomen. That was an expensive little unsolved case…
August:
Ah, family vacation to the Dells. It was made all the more fun by my being on crutches, due to tendinitis in my foot. It was the most exhausting week of recreational family time ever spent. I’ll never forget the heart-warming time I spent watching Gabe sit in our hotel room, steadfastly refusing to go anywhere near anything aquatic…
September:
I ran the Komen Race for the Cure for the second year, and it was as heartwrenching as the first time.
October:
Alysia came through town and broke my heart all over again. I miss my friend so much!
November:
Another Thanksgiving for the four of us; Eric cooked a wonderful feast, and we all thanked God for the many blessings in our lives. In November, my grandmother died, as well, tinging the season with loss and sadness.
December:
I made the commitment to myself to stay outside and active as much as possible this winter, staving off the Seasonal Affective Disorder that plagues me every year. So far so good, though that resolve doesn’t come without a price. Brrrr!
Wonder what images will capture next year?
I’m doing this race as my first 50K/ultra in July 2012. I’m so tardy to the party but...
What a fun recap! I think it was January when I asked, “Holy cow! You look great! What have you been doing??”
I love the recap! I am really impressed by how much you did!
I am officially, and sadly, feeling very much the sloth after reading your recap. BUT…I am still, as always, highly inspired and truly motivated by your accomplishments.
Great year
Uhh…they didn’t give me surgery for IT band syndrome. That was for the tears on both meniscuses on my left knee. I don’t recall noticing the tightness in my IT band until after surgery. However, it hasn’t been a problem.
No, I meant to say similar symptoms. Bad knees, both siblings.