Youth

 Friday, January 13, 2017

I was just looking at this selfie I took last night of MJREIMERS and (obviously) me:

The first thing that popped out at me was how vibrant and happy we both look. The second thing is how YOUNG! The sparkling eyes, the anticipation of the running season ahead of us. The occasion was the BRIN Blackout party, where those of us who finished all three 10K's after signing up for them last year (Leprechaun Chase, Cornfield Cornfield, and Harvest Moon Hustle) collected our commemorative medals. I'm wearing mine. Mako (MJREIMERS) has signed up to do the three races in 2017, as have I. I dubbed this photo "Once and Future BRIN runners".

Youth is not wasted on the young. They need it to survive growing up! But, the quality of being open, of always learning, of living in the moment, of being, as my little Webster's tells me, "esp. of being vigorous and lively"... can be preserved or prolonged, if we take care of our body's needs. All the things that Spark teaches us (or our mothers and grandmothers told us): get your sleep, "eat real foods, not too much, mostly plants", and move your bodies... feed a vibrant, vigorous life, no matter what the calendar calculates our age to be.

Don't get me wrong: I dub myself a "little old lady in training", because I do venerate the strength and wisdom of my years, and hope to rack up many more of them. But I want to do so with the vigor of good health that we often associate with youth.

Is Spark the fountain of youth?

For today:

• The bag is packed, but I have to remember to go to the dentist first, instead of automatic pilot mode to work.
• Remember to go to recess in this chopped up day!
• Remember to breathe, prioritize, and delegate.

Let's all get out there and live the very best Friday the 13th of January 2017 we can (whatever our superstitions about Friday the 13th may be), because, after all, it's the only one we'll ever get!