The Oldest, The Middle, The Youngest

Since the title of this blog is Running With Snakes, I guess I should write a post about running or snakes.  If you meet me in person, I can just ramble on about both but when (especially lately) I sit down to write about them, I go blank.  Writer’s block hits and stays regardless of how long I sit in front of a computer.  I guess that is why the last two posts haven’t been that interesting and have just been me whining.  I need to whine a little before I find my inspiration.  I should also look to my boys for inspiration.  All three of them are excelling in their chosen paths right now so I guess I will start there and see how where snakes and running can fit in.

The Oldest

He is 14 and as I wrote in an earlier post, he has started lifting weights to meet school benchmarks for P.E. class.  This kid is smart too.  School comes easy to him and we never have to worry about him or his homework.  It just gets done.  No nagging, no bribing, no checking in.  This kid is driven to be successful without the constant prodding of his parents. 

The oldest

The Middle

This one will do anything and everything.  He has a passion for everything athletic and has started riding his bike and skateboard with the intent to get good at them.  In the short time he has been riding hard, he has come a long way.  This past weekend I took him to the Valmont Bike Park and he had a blast.  He just recently bought a cheap BMX bike to see if he really likes it – he already is making plans to upgrade and his bike is less than two weeks old.  He is advancing so fast on the bike and I am very impressed. 

The Middle

The Youngest

This kid is the snake kid.  He has a passion for all life and especially snakes.  The other day when we got home from school, he found a small jumping spider on the driveway and immediately scolded me for almost hitting it.  I could barely see it when looking for it outside of the car – no way I would have seen it while driving.  The little man gently scooped up the spider into his hands and relocated it to the garden so I wouldn’t hit it next time. 

The Youngest

These are my boys and they are all inspirational.  I sometimes lose this perspective but when I stop and look at them, they all make me proud.  They each are so different and each are very successful in what they are pursuing in life.  They are also so young and have a great future ahead of them.  I am going to start vlogging again so go subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don’t miss a beat.  J

I wasn’t able to fit running or snakes into this blog post but I promise I am getting warmer to it and the posts will start to flow again.  For now – enjoy this vlog from today.

Pokemon Go Therapy

Have you ever been somewhere that is completely counter to your personality?  I find myself in a place like that every day – the tiny and shitty workspace that my employer gives me.  Actually, I have to sign it out like a library book so I really don’t have a true workspace to myself.  Anyone at any time can sign it out ahead of me and I would have to find another place to sit.  Fortunately, my desk mess and lack of organization keeps that from happening.  The most interesting thing about my workspace is my view of the Grand Hyatt next door.  I have seen some things that I wish I could unsee but those are stories that do not belong in my blog (adult fetish video film making – send me an email if you want the pictures).  So, every day I spend 8 hours sitting in a place that is completely counter to me and it is really wearing me out.

 

My workspace with the hotel next door

I used to just sit and mope.  Now I get up and leave the office, walk around the block, catch a few Pokémon, and visit the 7-Eleven for some snacks.  This is helping.  In fact, I have been hitting my daily step goal of 15,000 steps more often than not these days. 

Do you play Pokémon Go?  It is a worthless game that I have become addicted to playing.  I am a true addict.  I find myself checking my phone constantly to see if there are new Pokémon spawning nearby. However, there is a huge benefit to being an addict to this silly game – I walk a lot more and a lot farther.  I am getting my steps.  I am up and out of my seat walking around.  It has become my buffer from that shitty workspace I have to inhabit for 8 hours every day.  That and the hotel next door.

 

Where should I start today?

Where should I start today?  Since I am not really writing that much, I guess I can start anywhere and that will help.  I am still stuck at my dead end anti-conservation job.  I thought they were going to fire me last week but it was a false alarm.  Someone got upset that I put my home address on MY scientific collection permit in Texas.  I think they thought that I was preparing to leave and take the work with me – trouble is that if I leave here, I DO NOT want the work.  I am sick of working for the insanely rich and ignorant.  Or do I mean the rich and insanely ignorant?  I am tired of being a part of the global climate crisis rather than being a solution.  Regardless, I wasn’t fired last week.  Maybe I will be let go this week (if I am lucky).

I have been overwhelmed with life lately - so much so that I have been finding myself shutting down more and more for the littlest things.  Anything can trigger a shutdown these days.  I am trying to keep my perspective and see the big picture but the details do bother me.  A little too much right now – I wish I could just not care but that is not how I am built.  I was able to bring snakes to approximately 75 people on Saturday.  This is always so positive.

Me and a few snakes at the Coalton Trailhead on Saturday

 

I have also been doing well with getting active again.  Last week, I joined Jackson for a weight lifting session, ran once, and went for bike ride with my neighbor.  If I can keep this up, I know my energy levels will increase and I will want to do more and more.  Plus, if I don’t keep this up, Jackson will be stronger than me before I know it.  If he is anything like me as a teenager, he will get very strong in the next few months.  His motivation is a bit strange and has to do with a school benchmark - to be able to bench press his body weight before January.  If he can do that, he gets put into a P.E. group at school that doesn’t have to do much during class since they have already met the benchmark set for freshman.  I like his thought process – work hard now to be lazy later.  I think he has the right idea.

Bike ride selfie

Here is the summary of my life right now:

·         Grossly overwhelmed with even the little things

·         Trying to find perspective in my every day

·         Slowly gaining traction with finding my active lifestyle again

·         Still miserable at work

Definitely too many negatives but the positive is that I recognize that.  Moving onward and upward…