Ten Thoughts for the New Year

What a crazy couple of weeks to wind up my year! Life is unpredictable, it keeps you on your toes. I thought I'd share these ten thoughts as I move from 2011 to 2012.

1. Instead of being in Arizona as I'd hoped, I am still in Fort Collins. I am missing Across the Years. The real reason is in # 2 below. But I am also glad to be here, I rarely get to spend New Years with Dennis, and also, the drive would have been too much anyway right now, I'm still foggy in the afternoons from my thyroid not being quite right. I am starting to feel better in general though. I hope to attend the race next year as a participant, and run a new PR.

2. Part of the hazard of working in management is that that occasionally you get a wingnut- someone who is off their rocker completely, or has enough screws loose that the wheels come off at the slightest provocation. Dennis experienced this last week at work, in the process of a disciplinary action against one of his employees. Without giving away too many details of what happened, let's just say that we've felt somewhat like we're in a witness protection program this week. Fortunately our employer takes these situations very seriously and did everything possible to ensure he was safe, and not only that, they extended it to me. That's why I stayed home, I figured if I went away all I'd do is worry.

3. Writing- I've been doing a lot of it. Between guest blogposts, blogging for ONS, the Coloradoan column, and a few other writing projects, not to mention my own blogs, I've been doing a lot of typing at the computer. It's great, I love it. Blogging is such a great way to interact with readers. I spend a lot of time answering comments and e-mails as a result. It's been challenging, and I'm having fun. I'm looking forward to what 2012 brings. I just wrote this post today, check out giraffy's blog. She's a runner, but so much more. She's an amazing mom, who counts her blessings every day.

4. Another one of my favorite bloggers, Patricia Singleton, wrote a post about healing as a gift to ourselves. Her blog is about healing from childhood trauma and sexual abuse, but it applies to so many other things, too. All of us have experiences in our lives that require healing. I think this is a fantastic article.

5. Eradicating apathy- It's an election year, and a leap year. We all have an extra day in which to do good things. Make it count. Be an informed voter and exercise your right to vote. Healthcare reform, greed, and whether the government can work for the people, are three issues front and center this coming year. If it affects you or anyone else you know, get going. Don't sit there and let things happen. Speak up. If you're spending a lot of time texting or talking on your cell phone, use your electonic gadgets to spread the word about what's important to you. Mobilize other people to action, and follow through.

6. On nursing as a profession- I was replying in a private e-mail to some one who had commented on a blogpost I worte on nursing. After I replied to her, she wrote back to me and thanked me, then mentioned that she'd never heard such honesty from someone in a position of power and authority. Wow. I'm not in a position of power OR authority, I'm just a blogger. I don't even get paid to write. It took my breath away.

Blogging is such a powerful medium. And perceptions are powerful, too. Makes me a little fearful, that when I talk about nursing, I have to be careful what I say. But I have some serious opinions about the nursing profession. And it's funny, when I verbalize them, I rarely get disagreement from nurses who work on the front lines, in direct patient care. I love what I do, and I'm lucky to have landed where I am, because my employer is like a gem. I have never worked in a place where I've been treated so well in so many ways.

But so many nurses all over the U.S. still work under conditions that are little more than paid slavery. Where are the professional nursing organizations on healthcare reform? Why are they not advocating for themselves? We need to jump in, get involved at this juncture, to ensure that as we reform healthcare, nursing is reformed, too, so we receive the compensation and working conditions fit for a professional who is expected to operate under a heavy workload, stressful work, huge responsibility, and a high level of skill and knowledge.

7. Running- oh yeah, isn't that the purpose of this blog? I'm getting there. I reached 50 miles in a week, once. I'm doing strides. I'm trying to get enough sleep. January 1st is the first day of spring. No more excuses after that.

8. The girls got a new hedgehog and a frisbee for Christmas. Iris plays with both of them, Isabelle waits for Iris to grab the toy, then she chases Iris around.

I got some booties to keep my feet warm in the woman cave, too. Not pictured: Spongebob fleece pants and yellow spongebob t-shirt. I'll model those later.

9. The woman cave is done. Just a few little touch-ups, now it's time for furniture- a desk, chair, and storage for art supplies.

10. The conditions in our neighborhood are treacherous again. Every year, the ice dam happens, and the entire sidewalk and most of the street become a huge skating rink. The bigger streets and bike paths are clear, but getting out of my neighborhood is taking your life in your hands. Now we have 50 degree weather and it's melting everything. I hope it lasts long enough to see the retreat of the ice shelf. They should have science class field trips to our neighborhood, it could be a mini-model of Antarctica and global warming.

This is what I have to negotiate with the Buffaloes just to turn off of our street.

Skating rink in the first 0.1 miles of my run every day.

The ice dam at the end of the street.

Readers, thank you for coming to Journey to Badwater, I hope you'll keep reading, and thank you for putting up with my many tangents over the past 5 months since I've taken this long break from doing any serious running adventures. I suspect that some of the topics above are a few that I'll ramble to, in between training and racing. But I'm committed, January 1st, first day of spring, it's back to the business of running. Happy New Year, and Happy Journeys!