MILES AND MILESTONES

I've been thinking a lot about time lately. How it goes as slow as a snail travels across a garden or as fast as a star falls into the sea. Time affects everything we do; everything we are. Every crevice of our life is managed by this ticking clock. I read somewhere that time is the "dash" between our birth and death year. How amazing that this little line represents the largest things we do in our lives.

Two years ago, while in the middle of being separated, time felt like molasses. The hours never seemed to pass. Each minute ticked louder than the next, and I felt like I was swimming upstream. Yet now, as I sit here, it seems so long ago. Two years has come and gone. That's the funny thing about time. It can transform a situation you're in, into a distant memory. And aids in helping you, if you let it, to heal.

People deal with things in different ways and what I did....was walk. I bought a crazy colorful pair of sneakers and took the first steps to help pass the time that was so stuck. I was outside, breathing in the fresh air and looking at things with new eyes. I welcomed the serotonin that filled the cracks and caverns of my overthinking mind.

I started walking in my neighborhood...a couple of miles here and there and then daily. With each step, I was slowly shedding my old life much like a snake sheds it's skin. I then went a step further and joined a cardio kickboxing class. I was a little apprehensive at first but you know what? I loved it. Every sweaty shred of it. After a few classes, when I stopped seeing my heart hop out of my body and flip me the bird, I stayed with it and my sneakers have endured every kick, jump, and punch that I've managed to do.

Lately, I noticed that my sneakers have become a little worn and the laces have started to fray. This vibrant duo, while having many miles on them, have many milestones as well.

They have been with me when I shop and run the roads on a daily basis, taking my kids to and from school or to family and friend's houses. They have been with me on the beach to find sea glass or to plant my vegetable garden. I've stepped in puddles with them during a sun shower to run and get my camera to take a picture of the amazing rainbow over my house. I jumped in them when my son made the orchestra or when my daughter received high honor roll. They have picked pumpkins and decorated Christmas trees. They carried me down the corridor twice in the hospital for my kidney stones, and sadly boarded a plane with me to see my dying father in Florida. More importantly, they are on me a lot when I hug my kids just because I wanted to, or needed one. Many miles....many milestones.

I came to a decision in the new year to take my first ever solo trip to see my cousins in Arizona. I had put it off for a long time, but I realized that this life we have is short.....my kids are older now.....and it was time to do something for myself. And so I put my sneakers on and flew across this vast country of ours to see my family and to cross off an item on my "Bucket List" which was to see the Grand Canyon.

I must admit, this trip was one of the best I've ever taken in my life. And if my sneakers could talk, they would agree. My first hike was in Sedona, which is absolutely breathtaking. The way the sun reflects off the red rocks plastered against the cobalt blue sky was nothing short of stunning. There were mint colored wildflowers sprouting up from the rocks and the sun hugged you to your core. It is truly a place you need to see. Next stop, was the ever amazing Route 66. While many have driven on this historic road, my sneakers walked in a place where time stood still. I can only imagine the amount of cars, and sneakers that have passed through this place.

The next day, I tightened up my laces and went to see the Grand Canyon. While there are many words to describe this wonder of the world, I was truly speechless and humbled. I felt completely small against this enormous landscape. It's a place where beauty is defined; that your own mind can't seem to comprehend. Each sun ray that splashed down or each cloud that moved across changed the hues of the picture every few minutes. Every scenic overlook was better than the next and I was, and still am, in complete awe. It was as if the Colorado River was the pencil in sketching one of the most beautiful drawings ever created.

Afterwards, my sneakers and I travelled to see another cousin and his family in Goodyear, AZ, who I haven't seen in a few years. We rode in the mountains where beautiful quartz rocks sprinkled the land like a light snow. Across the brown, dusty desert, green cacti showed their strength as they still stand - some for hundreds of years. I welcomed the sun on my face that seemed to melt the winter that was still rattling around in me. More importantly, my sneakers and I got to rest, simply spending time laughing and telling stories of the past and present. I am truly grateful for the time I spent here with both my cousins and their families.

Sadly, it was time for me to go home, and as I write this, my dusty, tattered sneakers are on me. Having gone on this trip fueled a fire in me to try and travel to more places. Which brings me back to my thinking about time. Life is short as I've mentioned, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get to Paris to sit in an outdoor cafe gazing at the Eiffel Tower, to photograph the luminous Northern Lights, or even see the lava of Hawaii's volcanos kiss the turquoise waters on the shore, but those things are in permanent ink on my Bucket List and hopefully not on my list of regrets.

I hope this can give you some incentive to make your own list and take a chance that you never thought you would or to go somewhere you've never been. Make your miles into milestones. Because time is a gift. There's such a big world out there to see and whether I personally go at it alone or with my kids, I am looking forward to putting new chapters in my book of life...and I'm hoping that these sneakers will continue to take me along the next adventure....wherever it may be...

Till next time...