I can’t promise I will start regularly posting, but I know I am good for at least one yearly post.  So here it is.  In reverse order. 

Disney

Well, of course Disney is still a huge part in my day to day life.  Yes—day to day.  I feel like I am always thinking or daydreaming about it.  It really is my ‘happy place.’  Last August, Andy and I went on a mommy & son trip to Disney with my dear friend Maureen and her son.  It was such a great trip and we made so many memories.  The memory I want to forget is catching COVID for the first time while there and us having to truck through the trip with that going on.  WOW-that took a lot out on my body.  Andy had one night where he broke his fever and was a bit of a mess, but he trucked on.  My positive test when we came back confirmed how shitty I felt, and it honestly threw off my running for about a month then.  At least I didn’t have any big events planned!

We are doing another mommy & son trip to Disney this August, with hopefully no COVID, and with Grandma.  I am really excited to see what rides Andy is most interested in doing and all the memories we can make.  Dan and I have been working with Andy a lot lately preparing him for swimming pools, because he is not keen on his swim lessons.  We have him in private swim lessons starting a few weeks from now, so hopefully that helps.  I made a fake ‘threat’ that Grandma wouldn’t book us at the nice hotel anymore if he didn’t start to want to learn to swim….hopefully that’s lit a fire!

Dad

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of when my dad passed away.  I turn 40 this year.  That’s a lot to take in.  I have worked really hard in the recent years to deal with the grief that still was lingering and I feel like I am in a pretty good place.  There hasn’t been anything new with the family history/DNA/ancestry area.  My one close contact hasn’t talked to me in about two years, and it was sort of left that there may be some family resentment/conflict due to the potential unknowns/family skeletons.  I decided to send one more message earlier this week to just touch base and say hi…you never know what things could have changed?

There is also a date I am awaiting, and that is June 8^th.  This day is the day after what would have been my dad’s 72^nd birthday, but it is also a day that Quebec puts forth Bill 2 into action.   I will put a snippet below from the Province of Quebec website regarding what Bill 2 entails:

This act amends the Civil Code in respect of filiation, the law of persons and civil status. In particular, it amends the rules concerning the knowledge of one’s origins in relation to adoption so as to broaden their scope. Thus, this act allows the adoptee greater access to information about the identity of the parent of origin by eliminating almost all possibilities that a refusal to disclose would hinder it. It also gives the adoptee the right to obtain, under certain conditions, a copy of their original birth certificate and the judgments relating to their adoption, as well as the names of their grandparents and brothers and sisters of origin, and, if they consent to it, the information allowing them to contact them.

It extends services to new categories of applicants, such as the original grandparents of an adopted person and the first-degree descendants of a deceased adopted person. The latter will be able to obtain the same information and documents as the adopted person.

Lastly, it enshrines a person’s right to know their origins in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. These measures will come into force on June 8, 2024. Until then, the current provisions on knowledge of one’s origins continue to apply.

Honestly.  That statement in bold…that is me.  And this gives me so much hope.  I read this outloud to Dan just now as I typed it and he paused….and said “I am cautiously optimistic for you!”  Hopefully, 2024 can be the year we find the real answers.

Running

This is a year, other than the pandemic, that I have no real big races planned.  And I can say that I am at a place in my life that I am ok with that!  I started the year off with a quick trip to Los Angeles where I was able to take part in the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend with my bff.  It had been since 2017 that Disneyland had races (due to conflicts with the city of Anaheim and then the pandemic, etc) so it was great to be back there in that atmosphere!

A few weeks ago, we did the Moonlight Run 6km as a family-this was Andy’s first 6km distance.  Even in the late-winter snow, he did fantastic.  We finished just under one hour, and that was even with him in snow boots.  My race focus this year should have been more explicitly stated-it is to run 5km races with Andy!  Up next….Coaldale Family Fun Run.  He’ll also have the Red Deer Kids race during marathon weekend, Little Souls, and I also plan to get him signed up for a kid’s race in Wisconsin.

Andy and I head to Wisconsin in July, and I will be doing the Dances with Dirt Half Marathon Trail Race in Devils Lake.  I am looking forward to my first trail race outside of Western Canada!  I am not looking forward to the humidity!  I will also sign up for one of the local beer garden 5km events that coincidentally have a kids event too. 

Dan and I are signed up for the return of Lone Wolf in September, and Coulee Cactus Crawl in Lethbridge will be our warmup trail race together.  Still trying to think of a good team name, otherwise our Lone Wolf original of “Lammers & the Dilf” will still hold on.

One big thing to mention that ties directly in with where I am at with my running is to talk about where I am with my health.  Without going into too much, I will say that I am in a much better place than I was one year ago.  I have lost close to 20 pounds.  My body is not hurting.  With the guidance of a doctor, I weaned off my antidepressants that I had been on for close to 12 years (but I think were doing more harm than good the last while).  I have now been off them for 7 months.  I took time off alcohol.  Between the being off the antidepressant and pausing on boozing, I weaned off my blood pressure medication.  I tracked my blood pressure off the pills for about 2 months in November and December (some time while drinking, some while not) and it has now been stable since January.   And I am not on that pill either.  I am actually now on no prescription medication—just a daily multivitamin and collagen because I’m old hahaha. And, I had my yearly echo and my heart function has improved since the last one.  And super minor, but I am not consuming even CLOSE to the amount of caffeine as I was previously….living on the half caf/decaf life.  The meaningful changes I started making a year ago really have made a difference-the tests don’t lie.  I am not going back to where I was before. 

A week ago, this blog entered my mind during a workout.  And I reflected on how great I felt when I was actively posting about my running and training.  It was therapeutic.  I know it will take some extra effort to make posting happen, but with the upcoming Disney, Dad and Running events on the horizon, sharing the good news could do some good. They will be shorter than this, more often than not, and not very well proof-read. But I know this helps.

Until then….