Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A Reflection on Gifts

2010 A Reflection On Gifts
“For unto us a Child is born, a son is given.”

Finding the “perfect” gift seems to be the theme of many during the holiday hustle and bustle. For those of us who are Christians, the gift of the birth is eternal salvation. The year’s end is always a great time to reflect on the year gone by. This year, with the recent passing of a dear friend’s mother unexpectedly, a student’s mom whose other child was left paralyzed, Matt and I would like to reflect on the gifts of 2010. Really, as the adage goes, “today is a gift; it is called the present”.

In random order here we go:
• Living in Evergreen: no more 4:00 A.M. runs on the treadmill with a 40+ minute commute. Civilization!
• Renters in our Bailey house until the market turns.
• Coaching, curriculum development and prize money = down payment for Evergreen house.
• 60’s carpet, blue tubs, peach toilets and all of the other house project that allow Matt to further develop his handyman skills! He may have found a new side job when all is said and done!
• Lutheran Church of the Cross our new church with contemporary music and only 3 blocks from our home!
• A new Dodge Ram 1500 for Matt.
• A self-less dedicated coach who has helped Brandy get to a level in running she had only dreamed about!
• U.S.A. Mountain Running: NACAC, World Long-Distance Challenge (Pike’s) and World’s in Slovenia
• Expensive airfare to Canmore, Canada which inspired Matt, Brandy and dogs to road trip through Glacier National Park up to Canmore (88 winter Olympic venue) and then into Banff National Park
• Mount Washington Road Race and Acadia National Park
• Race Directors who give comp entries, travel assistance and homestays to elite athletes and spouses!
• Frequent flyer miles allowing Matt to travel to World’s in Slovenia! (Team 4th, Brandy 15th—2nd U.S.)
• A 16 hour layover in Paris that ended up with Brandy breaking both of her arms!
• “In sickness and in health” brought on new meaning for a husband. (Shaving, washing hair, etc.)
• Health Insurance to cover a $45,000 surgery and prize money from Pike’s to cover the deductible.
• 120 Eager Cross Country Kids for Brandy to coach along with a great coaching staff
• Baseball in Evergreen allowing Matt to share his “love of the game”!
• Matt’s DECA kids who made it to state allowing us to stay at the 5 star Broad Moor Hotel
• Bookclub which has become a wine, food, and socialize club! What book were we supposed to read?
• New Balance who allows me to be an ambassador for the shoe I have worn since I was 12 and who has graciously supplied me with shoes and gear.
• Power Bar who provides Brandy and Matt bars & gels to keep us fueled on the trail and throughout the day.
• Atlas who has kept Brandy on their snowshoeing team despite being lost in 3 out of the 6 races!
• Humane Society’s who have “no-kill” policies who kept K2 for almost 11 months before he found his forever home with us! (It must have been meant to be as he is named after a mountain!)
• Pet hair on our clothes, in our food, scratches on the furniture &floors, poop in the yard and dirty litter boxes as it means we have healthy pets: Emma, Gizmo, Ches-E, Fischer, Chopper and K2!
• An amazing veterinarian and her husband who have become two of our dearest friends and one of Matt’s best fly-fishing and cribbage buddies.
• A food dehydrater which has allowed Matt to become an Elk Jerkey master.
• Jeffco’s 21st Century Virtual Academy which allows Brandy to Work from home!
• Evergreen High School where Matt continues to teach and run the school store.
• Brandy’s mom who comes to visit while Matt travels to Phoenix for baseball spring training.
• Sara and Correy’s visit and good friends to share Thanksgiving with.
• A zillion other people, places and things I am forgetting!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and happy healthy New Year! Hoping you will find, use and share your gifts with those around you. In the end, it is not the small things, or the big things, it is the day to day “in-between” things—a warm cup of coffee shared with a friend, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, a mountain sunrise/sunset. Dogs wagging their tails with unconditional love when you return from getting the mail, a warm kitty curled up purring on your lap, a good book, a movie that makes you laugh until you cry and the friends, family and co-workers who we share this daily journey with.

Note: Almost a year has gone by without any activity on this blog! The end of the year is a great time to reflect on the year gone by and set goals/resolutions for the next. My goal for 2011 is to become a "regular" blogger!  I am already pondering topics for my next post--perhaps a reflection of my running successes/failures of 2010.

1 comment:

  1. Brandy, I would love to see a whole lot more on here from you! I know it's been forever since we last saw each other, but you have such a fascinating life and the hard work and determination you demonstrate in your running is something that would definitely be worth reading for many of us! I hope you and your family have a happy and healthy New Year ahead!

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