Tick Tock

Time passes so slowly when you are waiting on something good to happen...

I have never been good at the waiting game.  But it seems more and more I find myself playing it, even though I'd rather not.

Today I am waiting to find out if a job that was (I thought) offered to me yesterday is "official." I was pretty sure it was a sure thing yesterday morning, but after calling the principal this morning to firmly accept, he said he was going to call administration to verify it was all "a go". Ugh. So frustrating! Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I have learned over time to never count my chickens before they hatch. This is no exception.

So while I sit here all paranoid and unable to concentrate, I figured I'd write a quickie post. I don't have much to talk about today (the job is really the big news here) but I will share something that I did on Sunday late afternoon that I am extremely proud of.

Many of you read Michele's blog Ruminations and Uncovering: Toward a New Me and know that she is an avid bicyclist and is participating in the upcoming Venus de Miles race which involves a 60 mile bike ride through Boulder, CO. Sarah at Thinfluenced is another blogger and biking trailblazer and is doing a 100 mile ride in less than 3 weeks in support of her son Cole, who has cancer. I read both of these ladies' blogs regularly and am always inspired and amazed at both their stamina on the bike, and at their perseverance in their quests to get fit and healthy. They often post descriptions of their rides and have pictures of the scenic views they are awarded as they pedal their way toward being fitter and healthier women. They make it look so fun, in fact, that on Sunday I thought I'd give it a whirl myself.

Now I love my bike - but the only terrain the poor thing has ever seen is the flat streets of our little quaint town in NJ and the even flatter streets of our annual vacation spot, which is a Delaware beach resort town. I have never taken any "serious" rides. My maximum distance was probably 8 miles which I did one day around our town. Mainly, I take 3-4 mile jaunts here and there. Nothing too strenuous, and certainly nothing worth writing home about. My little blue cruiser is meant for just that - cruising around town. Well, until Sunday that is.

The hubby and I decided to take a ride and I was leading. He had told me about an 11 mile ride he took the previous day and on our way back from the grocery store, he drove the same route so I could see where he had gone. It was a nice ride, which ended up along the Delaware River on some wonderfully hilly back roads, passing horse farms and sheep farms and corn fields galore. It was a beautiful 11 miles of sunny scenery (by car anyway) but I still wasn't convinced I could do the ride on my own, on my little cruiser bike that had never ever been introduced to hill in its short lifetime.

But that same evening, we ventured out on our wheels and about 3 miles in, I decided I was going to go for it. We were already headed in the right direction and I asked my husband if he thought I could do it. Without hesitation, he said "Of course. You can do anything!" I can't tell you what that small, unwavering bit of support and encouragement did for me. I decided then and there I was going to tackle those 11 miles, come hell or high water.

It was an amazing ride! There was only one hill that got the better of me, but other than that I shifted gears like a pro and made it up and down hills and got my calorie burn on, proper! Any self-doubt I had before the ride is now gone. I think I may have found a new exercise love!

I have said before, and will say again,  that support is everything. If my husband had faltered even a little bit in his response to my question, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to go that far. 11 miles may not seem far, but for a gal who didn't think she had the guts to go that distance, it was huge. Having someone that believes in you implicitly, and believes that you can do anything you set your mind to, is the best motivation tool you can have. My husband is my lifesaver. We all need someone like that in our lives - someone who believes you can do great things, even if you, yourself, may not think you can.

Anyway, I've typed this whole post and I'm still waiting on my phone call from the administration office at the school where my potential job may be. Guess I'll have to keep waiting for them to call...
I'm just happy I didn't wait any longer to take these steps towards getting healthier. I already wasted too much time not being proactive in that department.....but no more.

Times, my friends - they are a changin'.