2013 Year in Review

I welcomed in the 2013 New Year laughing with and enjoying the company of good friends in the hills of North Carolina. On the trek south I had a wonderful visit with my aunt and uncle in Indiana and the journey back allowed me to call in on my cousin and her family in Kentucky.

In January, I resumed a rather heavy load of undergrad classes which proved to be thought provoking and entertaining. My field of study was English where for 4 months I lived and breathed Shakespeare’s A Tempest and the Hunger Games Trilogy, among other works and topics.

The New Year also brought with it a new vigor for running. December 1^st, I registered for my second half-marathon taking place on April 13 thinking by then Michigan would be entering its beautiful spring weather phase. Snow, sleet and wind on that day proved otherwise. Undeterred, I ran this race and many more in the months following, picking up a few enthusiastic running buddies along the way.  

It was a delight beyond words to return to Prague in May to celebrate the completion of service of Denise and Keith Jones after 15 years as Rector at the International Baptist Theological Seminary. This was my first visit after leaving Prague in February 2010, and it was a rich and meaningful time with dear friends. 

I completed my undergrad courses in April and in May began taking classes full-time in the Graduate Teacher Certification (GTC) program at Grand Valley State University. Throughout the summer I had an intensive schedule of classes which were interesting and challenging.

My summer was full of fun and small adventures. I did a lot of running, some biking, and a bit of camping. Alongside of my school responsibilities, I continued work as Director of Children and Family Ministries at Grandville United Methodist Church.

This fall I entered my first elementary classroom to begin Teaching Assisting and (starting January 2014) Student Teaching. I have fallen in love with twenty-three 3^rd graders and look forward to my own class in the future.

An unexpected highlight of 2013 was a weekend in Florida! A family who has become good friends and I spent an early weekend of November not only in Florida, but in Disney World. We didn’t just run around the parks, but we ran through the parks for the Wine & Dine Half-Marathon. I felt like a little kid and loved it!

My 2013 was not laden with so many changes as 2012, for which I am thankful. This was a year of settling-in and carrying-on in new routines and environments. As best I could, I kept my head in the books, my feet on the ground, and my heart stayed on what was important.

I wish for each of you that 2014 will be full of adventures, peace and laughter; and that you will experience God’s love in amazing ways.

Have a joyous holiday season! 

~ Vanessa

Third Place

I've been ruminating on a particular singlehood preponderance for some time. It's a recognition of a reality that makes my heart a little sad. I will preface this by reaffirming my continued contentment and current preference to being single. For me. 

The thought first came to me late winter/early spring when I was running a number of races around West Michigan. I was consistently getting third place in my age category. I was happy to be placing and it was always a thrill to hear my name announced calling me up to receive my award. However, I eventually grew tired of my third place stagnation and longed for and worked at moving into second or first place.  

During my phase of third placedness I recall sighing to a friend, "I'm tired of being third place." My saying that out loud kept the phrase resonating in my head throughout the day. In a completely separate area of life, I was arranging a few outings with friends independently of each other, and due to spouses or children nothing seemed to be falling into place.

I translated my third place position in running to my third place position in relationships. Please do NOT read this as an invitation to a pity party for poor single Vanessa. This is not the case. It is just a realization of the place that a single adult often holds in relationships with friends who are married or in committed relationships.

It is nice to be someone's No.#1. Really nice. To know that you will be the person that they will and can change plans for. To be the one that they will tell their stories to first, to be number one on their speed dial. To be the one consulted on purchases, trips, or employment opportunities.

My dearest friends will cancel or postpone plans with me if a husband/wife/significant other prefers, decides, or needs them to. A husband works late. A child is sick. A wife would rather you just stay home. (Oh, yes, I realize those examples drip with stereotypes, but you get my point.)

Nope, I'm not asking for change. I fully appreciate the commitment and mutual respect in families and I want to be a cheerleader for that. Always.

Just because it makes me a little sad, doesn't mean I'm calling for an upheaval of family relations and order. I have rich and endearing friendships that make my heart glad. They are full of laughter and love. I am deeply valued and respected and given opportunity to express love uniquely to them - even from third place.

A Week of Waiting

Being confident that Sunday morning at 0900 hours I would be registering to run a marathon at the end of May, my mind went to a happy, gluttonous place. My mouth followed.

Training for a marathon, I'm told, will put me in the best shape of my life. In light of this, I thought I would have a final hurrah for my taste buds by eating and drinking consumables that I'm not sure I even missed, but were sure nice to indulge in.

However, as noted earlier, the great run registration has been delayed ~ not good for two reasons.

Firstly, it has given me too much time to contemplate my sanity in having earlier decided that running a marathon was a good idea. I'm tempted to bypass this whole endeavor.

Secondly, it has given me seven more days to look ahead a few months to when I will be in the "best shape of my life", and thus have been eating without borders. Ugh. And I feel it ~ gross and heavy. This coupled with the blizzard and piles of snow on my running paths has kept me indoors and doing very little. Even visiting the gym has been dull and close to effortless.

This evening, apart from some nice red wine, I've changed my course and won't imbibe so freely and consequently continue to lose whatever level of fitness I may have achieved from my earlier running activities.

So, tomorrow morning, early morning, I'm off to the gym. Not a chance of running outside with our current Michigan Winter Wonderland. And we'll see what happens on Registration Sunday.

He who hesitates is lost

Uh Oh! 

Now I have one week in which I will likely talk myself out of and into registering for this marathon about 14 times!

The Road Ahead

Tomorrow afternoon I will lace up

after having registered for the

taking place on 

Yes, I may be a little

Wish me luck!