I went shopping today with my sister Jamie, and some family and friends, for her wedding dress. I cannot believe my little sister is getting married next year, I also cannot believe her daughter is over a year old! As I was watching her try on some dresses I thought back to our lives just a few years ago, I would have never thought she would be getting married and have the cutest baby girl ever. I would have also probably told you a few years ago that I would most likely be the first out of the two of us to be married. I am happy to say that she found a dress and she looks absolutely beautiful in it. I could see how happy she is, and I am so incredibly happy for her. The journey she has been on the past 2 years has been so good for her. I remember the phone call like it was yesterday when she found out she was pregnant, what a shock. But Cara has been such a blessing for Jamie and Tony as well as our family. It has been a journey she would have never thought she would be on, but life has a way of making those decisions for us. The picture is me and Cara at her first birthday party =)
I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and I mean absolutely everything. I believe that every person we come across every day, who we call our friends and family, where we work, what we eat, what we do for hobbies, you get the point, all has a purpose. Everything and anything we do can open up new paths and create new journeys for us in our lifetime, we are just not always aware of it. Some people are more intuitive than others which is a gift I believe we all have, but we are just not always open to it. I believe that gift is not only something I am open to, but I am very aware of and I rely heavily on.
I discovered yoga back in high school. It started out as a class to get in a good stretch and maybe burn a few calories while doing so. After attending a few classes it became so much more. Yoga became my emotional balance, my centering, and my saving grace. I always felt so much better not just physically, but emotionally after class. Even though I was so young, I really felt a connection to myself that nothing else could ever bring me. I continued to practice here and there in college to DVDs since I was in a small town. I remember when one of the new pledge classes had a little voting game, and one of the questions was who was most likely to become a yoga teacher after college. I remember my head telling me it was me. Then about 5 years ago I walked into a yoga class at Lifetime in Burr Ridge. I never spoke with the teacher Sarah before or after class, but I felt connected to her and I knew that she was going to be a big part of my life in some way. I kept going to her class when I could, but eventually I moved out of the area and didn't see her for quite some time. Last year I finally made the decision to go to school to become a yoga teacher. I found out that Sarah was holding a teacher training this year and I immediately signed up. We are just about done with our training, and what a blessing it has been for me. I have been on this great journey with yoga for a long time now, and my new journey with teaching is just beginning. I can't even explain how rewarding it is for me to share it with all of my students. Oddly enough I knew this was going to happen, I knew eventually I would be teaching yoga and I knew who my teacher would be. I just had to wait for the right time for it to happen.
My journey to Ironman is still going, but I am loving every minute that I am on it. I remember when I first heard about triathlon and immediately decided that I wanted to do one. I was at Lifetime in Orland Park (funny how many epiphanies I have had at Lifetime, and funny how my first yoga teaching job was at Lifetime) and one of the women I was in class with told me she was doing a triathlon. She is about twice my age and my ultra competitive side turned on and I thought if she could do one so could I. I signed up to do a triathlon shortly after that day. It was a local sprint triathlon and I never felt so much pain going through that race, and I never fell in love with something so fast. I realized though that I really needed to learn how to swim! This past January I started Master Swim at Lifetime in Romeoville (yet another reference) with Steve who is the most amazing swim coach ever. He also held a triathlon class about the same time that I signed up for. I was meeting a lot of people at Master Swim who where either training for or already completed an Ironman and I kept thinking I never want to do one. That all changed one night at triathlon class with Steve when he was telling me about his Ironman. I totally caught the bug and started telling everyone I know so I wouldn't get scared and back out. Steve set me up with the most amazing triathlon coach ever and I am registered and on my way to doing my first Ironman 70.3 which is July 31, 2010. I will be doing my first full Ironman in 2011 in Madison.
My journeys to yoga and IM have both been a long time coming, but came when I was ready for it. I am so happy where I am and I'm looking forward to where they take me. I know I'm going in the right direction and that is such a great feeling.
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