Still here and renewed

I have not forgotten this blog although it feels like it sometimes. I intended this blog to be more general in content, as opposed to The Mouse and More, which is more about my running and training. Fumbling through my forties came about at a low time in my life, which I have since climbed from to where I am now.

But where is that? I was having problems with work (actually had just left my job in 2008) and felt unsure about my future. It took several months, but I found I great job with a good company (that I still have) and found some focus in taking control of my life by re-dedicating myself to my running and becoming vegan. The resulting health and lifestyle changes have been all good and I appreciate the benefits I have gained from those changes. There was still something not quite balanced, though. I found I was still stressed about a few things that interfered with really enjoying myself fully. It took an unfortunate event to help me get a better realization of what's important. Several weeks ago, my cousin suddenly died. He was 50 and a great guy. He reminded me of my Dad (who died in 2004) and the suddenness of my cousin's death coalesced the importance of not wasting time worrying about things that are ultimately unimportant. It also made me realize that we shouldn't put off things just because it might be inconvenient or expensive (I'm not advocating going into crushing debt). Time is short, I'm getting older and I don't want to look back and say, "If only I'd done ..."

To that end, I had an opportunity to go to Walt Disney World the last weekend of February, solo, and I found myself at the airport on a Thursday morning boarding a plane to go back six weeks after we'd gone down for Marathon Weekend. Although this was the first time I'd gone down solo since 1980, when I was 15 and had a chance to go for a day (much different time back then), it was an interesting opportunity to do some things I haven't done in a while. I used this trip to scout and confirm vegan food options, as well as think a lot. Usually, I run a few times on non-race trips and this trip was no exception. I spent one day visiting three parks and Downtown Disney, which entailed a lot of walking, scouting possible running routes at a couple resorts, and generally enjoyed myself as much as I could while traveling solo. I wouldn't mind going down again solo, but I'll always prefer to travel with my wife and son, as a lot of the joy and fun is watching them have a great time there.

I hope that the future holds other adventures for me and that I take advantage of them, as one never knows what's in store tomorrow or beyond.


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