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JUNE ELIZABETH CARR 11/21/07
My lovely daughter's...
lovely daughter ...
named after my lovely mother...
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A Halloween Thing
Guess who??? It is the I dream of Jeannie duo of John and Julia on Halloween of 2007. Well, it was a TV show theme party. Pretty good, huh? Don't know if this is funny or scary???? ha ha!
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Hood to Coast 2007
This is me on my last leg of the Hood 2 Coast Relay in Oregon in August of 2007. Our team (the Fat Cheetahs) all flew up from Austin (with the exception of Allen from Portland) and did the 197 mile race. The race starts from Mt Hood near Portland, which is Oregon's tallest mountain, and ends at the beach in Seaside, on the Oregon coast. Our team of 12 had 2 vans that jumped from point to point to change out runners. At the end, we were dirty, tired, intimate friends, and in 8th place out of 293 teams! We enjoyed the big blow out party on the beach and then stayed an extra couple of days to enjoy beautiful Oregon. Gee, I LOVE that state!!
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May of 2007...
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In May of '07 Hil and I rode a musical Pas de Deux for the Air Force Veteran's Memorial Gathering.
Great music (complete with the sound of fighters taking off!) and great company.
Not too many dry eyes...including us!!
Horses: Lalique & Athena...
May 2007 Beach to Bay Team. Great fun on the sands of Corpus Christie. Cool medals, cold beer...
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April 2007
Birthdays & gettin’ older
 Here we are celebrating Lauren’s 18th birthday. Suddenly I am aware that she is entering into her life as an adult. I think she is too young to be a woman so I look around the room. They (the other “youngsters”) are all too young to be women. Wait a minute! Stop! This can’t be right. How did I become the old wise one of the bunch?
I became the “sage” that I am by turning 18 myself…and living my life as I saw fit (and many others often didn’t) for the next 30 years. I made dumb decisions, wrong turns, and some right turns. I thought I wasted a lot of time by making so many poor “life” choices. But gosh, life teaches you so much if you just let it. I am happy and thankful for the wisdom that came with these “years after 18.”
And so I look around the room again. I focus my thoughts and I am excited for these young women. I know that I will forever worry, harp, and bitch about the things that I think they need to know. I know that I cannot save them from the emotions of sadness or loneliness or despair, for these are all part of the lives of everyone. I know that they will make some stupid decisions (with me bitching or whining in the background.) And I know that they will have some gloriously happy moments…and this is what I think of as I look at all of them.
Getting older is inevitable. We all do it. Years go by steadily and sometimes life is on the fast track. I hope that as all of these girl/women get older they will never forget to take the time to think about what gives meaning to life. “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.” I hope these youngsters will learn that happiness is a gift you give yourself. I hope that they will learn that kindness and compassion are the strengths of great people. I hope the years will find them living their own passions and using their talents to make the world a better place. Getting old is easy so one may as well do it with style!
 So here we have Lalique celebrating her 14th birthday. Lalique and I are among the mid-lifers. We have reached that stage where we are comfortable with who we are. Does this mean we are bored (or boring!!!) or complacent? Hell no!!! At this stage in my life, I feel like I have seen and done enough things and experienced enough emotions, etc, to be able to turn off the “white noise.” In my (earlier!) youth I was bombarded with sights, sounds, emotions, and a smorgasbord of stimulations that kept me on life hyperspeed. Now, in my “guru” years, I am all about peace, love, -n- happiness. Save the whales! Save the world! Feed the children! Make love not war! See and do EVERYTHING! AND… don’t worry be happy!!
And so it goes as the clock ticks on… My girls are turning into women. I accept my place as the “elder.” I pray for them to have happy lives. But mostly, if they will take the time to notice, I will show them how to enjoy the passing of time.
FINAL WORD (maybe!) The poem DESIRATA:
Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others; even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career however humble; it is a real posession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy
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Just hangin' in Oregon
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 Amy and I spent a good four or five hours hanging in the ROGUE (no kidding) bar on the boardwalk in Newport, Oregon. Does this seem an odd thing for a virtual non-drinking girl to do? Does this seem an odd thing to do when you have limited time to spend in a place as lovely and interesting as Newport, Oregon?
We drank a few Rogue beers (hey, takin' it for the team!) We ate greasy food while chatting with smokey (and often slighty pickled) locals... all the while calling out song names at the end of each song playing through the speakers. (An afternoon at the boardwalk bar kinda game.) We took a zillion pictures of Rogue this and that around the bar... Rogue flags, t-shirts, beer, and the large, colorful surfboard hanging over the bar (which we bought raffle tickets for.) We took pictures of us... of the soldier boys heading for Iraq... of the newly married couple (who also played the song game)... of random people that we met (hi ya guys!!)
An afternoon with my way cool runnin' buddy friend. An afternoon getting the flavor of the fisherman's life in Newport. An afternoon of resting tired marathon legs. Hearing whale stories! Yeah! An afternoon of "rogue stuff" shopping (my cool new hat I'm wearin' is one purchase!) An afternoon far from work or responsibilities (although maybe missing the plane the next day WAS slightly over the top!!)
Oregon is definately beautiful. I am glad I saw the sea lions, walked the pristine coastline, stuck my feet in the frigid water. I am glad we found a room on the beach. I am glad we ate REAL clam chowder. I am glad we had an espresso at the little cafe where the "writer" lady was. I am glad we went in the little local artists store where Amy got her really groovy prints and I saw the prettiest sushi dishes I have ever seen! I am glad I saw the lights from the restaurant skimming gold across the black water at night as the white caps rolled to the shore. And I am glad we spent our afternoon at the Rogue Bar. Experiences are about everything! I love my hat and my "Rogue Nation" bumper sticker for they both remind me of Oregon and time with my friends...
Rogue Eugene '07 Team - Duane, Chris, Sean, Amy, Julia, Ashley, Lorena
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Eugene Marathon
- April 29th, 2007
- Eugene, Oregon
Julia Wolffe
Skiing Again After 31 Years!!! Oh Yeah!!
Did I mention that vacations ROCK??!! .jpg)
Skiing in Utah over Spring Break 03/07. On the slopes here with Anthony & John. Powder snow, 60 degrees, great company...other than the occasional snowball in the ear! Ha Ha Ha
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Another year on the job…
Yes, I do want to win the lottery and run off to some deserted island.
I am a paradox… one who moans about teenage crazy behavior, stupid horse people (of which I suppose I am one) and who desperately dreams to retire and yet… I am encouraged to maintain my own impulsion for my work by the very ones that I accuse of being the bane of my existence. It is funny how I wish to win the lottery and run off to some deserted island but I would then need a plane to travel to my students…or perhaps I would build a big barn complex (on the OTHER side of the island!) I am burned out (several times over) from doing my job for the last 31 years but then…
 I see my best friend working herself to the bone to support her horses. I see my kids dabbling with fitness (check out Lauren running the Star of Texas 5K pic!) when the whole world around them is filled with toxic food and sitting on your butt in front of the TV or computer. I see my young girls trying to control the hormonal roller coasters that they are on at full speed. I see my horses working EVERYDAY to perform tasks for me that they see no point in. I see owners and/or parents keeping the faith that all will eventually improve. I am aware of and proud of my “family.”
I am not one for constant praise. (Ok, maybe not even regular praise…) I was raised in a proper British manner. (If you are not bleeding from a major artery or there are no bones poking through your skin then suck it up and get moving.) I do not follow the new American doctrine of “everyone is a winner.” I demand. I reprimand. I expect blood, sweat, and tears… and NO whining… I will not praise you for breathing but I might if you are gasping for air while performing some Herculean feat.
That said, I have mellowed (a tiny bit) over the years. In all these years of trying to garner wisdom, I have realized that I need to be aware of what constitutes a dedicated effort per the individual person. My own effort of running up mountains is perhaps compatible with someone else’s effort to lose weight or make a good grade on a test. So, while I will perhaps roll my eyes rather than jump up and down with pom-poms, I am aware of, and empathetic to, the struggles of others.
My students’ and my horses’ efforts motivate me to stay at this job. I know I am somewhat jaded from years in the dust and cold and sun. Perhaps I am even less than patient at times with my conception of lazy or asinine behavior. (ya think??) But all in all, what comes out as my disdain at times is only my passionate nature of “balls to the wall” expectations coming out. At this stage in my life, I don’t care about having a rip roaring business full of every fly-by-night Olympic wannabe. I have a barn full of winners and I plan on keeping it that way. I guess it is another year on the job…
VALENTINE’S DAY 2007
What’s love got to do with it?
 How do you define love? I suppose everyone would have a slightly different idea. It depends on your experiences and how you digest them with the ideas or knowledge that you have. We learn from movies, our families, our friends, dating, reading, or even just thinking about it. We learn from feeling it.
I don’t divide love into convenient little compartments of new love, old love, blah, blah, blah. I do recognize that the love of a mother has obvious differences to the love of a lover. I do recognize that love matures… either growing or fading as the relationship goes on. This does not give any one of these “types” of love any more or less credibility to me. I see love as the ability to open one’s heart without expectations.
So does that mean that love is truly unconditional? Well… that depends on how you look at it. I would say no. There are conditions to love but they are not expectations as to how your loved one should act or change for you. To me, loving someone is to love the person that they are. The “conditions” are only those that one sets to keep the love in a relationship nurtured. Kind of a “the heart goes on” sorta thing. Loving someone is to do what is best for them…even if it means you have to separate. For to me, the only “condition” of love is that it stays alive. To me, that is the only kind of love there is.
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My experiences with love keep evolving with my own realization as to how great love is. No matter the number of heartbreaks I have had, it seems that things always just get better. With each time that I have opened my heart up to loving someone, I have become less guarded. I have decided that having love is worth any kind of sadness that you experience if you lose it. Fact is, there are times that you may become estranged from a lover, a family member, or a friend (which is incredibly sad) but you really don’t lose the love that you allowed yourself to embrace. It stays with you. If you allowed yourself to feel it, then you have given yourself a very loving gift. If you have learned to open your heart then you will do it again…it is just too awesome to ignore…
Happy Valentine’s Day With Love… Julia
A favorite saying for my loved ones: I love you...not for who you are but for who I am when I am with you...
HAIKU?
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So, for an upcoming Valentine’s party the invitation asked that we bring a Valentinie haiku that we had written. Here is mine:
I will wait for you
I do not know who you are
Of course I can dream
What’s a Haiku? Well, it is a form of Japanese poetry using 17 syllables. It does not rhyme and is written in three lines in the order of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. Apparently (according to an undisclosed source) this is a fun thing to do when you are out at parties or bored with the Super Bowl or something. Put a bunch of subjects in a hat and have each person present pick one to create a haiku out of. It can get pretty funny. Cool. Something else to add to my penchant for bursting into jingles at weird moments!
Bursting into song
Is thought to be annoying
By boring people
Oh yeah, this is fun…
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NEWBIE JITTERS??
So my friend (and student) Hil says to me the other day, “It is so funny to see you as a student. It is great to see you dealing with worrying and showing a little lack of confidence.” And so I thought about it.
I am certainly into that place of being a beginner. A “greenhorn” runner, not really sure of what I am doing or what my body is telling me. I read, I observe, and I listen to my coaches. I try to analyze rationally (or not!) what I am feeling as I run. I have no experience to draw from and so much of my rationale is a wild guess. I am in no man’s land…just spitting in the wind and hoping that I am standing in the right direction. I face the challenge of a novice. Onward through the fog…so to speak…
But most of this learning journey is fun. It is exciting to experience new feelings. It is kinda like having a new boyfriend. Just the newness and the challenge can be exhilarating. Naturally, doubts pop up when things go wrong but I then try to think about what got me into this sport in the first place. Then I remember that I have to have all the experiences – good and bad – to really learn this sport. I do get frustrated that I can’t have all the experiences immediately and learn everything in a week or so… but I know that isn’t possible. I also know that it wouldn’t be fun or even fulfilling to have things go so easily. Making the mistakes, as well as having the occasional “beginner’s luck” is what is exciting and inspiring to me.
And, I know that one of these days, I will have a better understanding of what to do with cramping calves. I will know which clothes to wear for what weather. I will know how much sleep I need. I will have experienced enough ups and downs to have the confidence to make more of my own decisions. The more I challenge myself to keep learning, the closer I will come to being a “real” runner.
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So what happens when I am a real runner? Is the fun over with? No way! I will have only experienced the honeymoon and the first fledgling years of my “marriage” to the sport of running. Then will come a new and even more exciting journey… making it truly a part of my life and my soul. Then, I will be able to go forward with learning and changing (as we all do forever) but with a solid base under me. Learning never stops. And with the confidence of having been through the novice stages and living through all the experiences that came with that, I just open the door to a deeper understanding. I get to learn to truly love running because it has intertwined with my spirit. I will grow and prosper as it reveals the essence of my character.
So, if I am a “baby” runner, then how can I be sure that this is all true? Well, this is because it is like everything else in life. You just have to abandon the fear of the unknown and jump on in. I was lucky enough in my own life to want to ride horses more than anything. It did not matter how many times I was thrown off, kicked, bitten, or run into trees. I wanted to ride…passionately… The occasional blue ribbon or praise from my instructor could provide the confidence to last through months of failure. I didn’t care about outward appearances. I knew I would stick it out and I knew I would figure it out. I didn’t care how long it took. Because, I loved horses and I loved the power that I felt when things went right. It was worth every ounce of pain and embarrassment. Riding horses taught me to abandon fear and embrace what I loved in life. And that is how I know that those who continue through the mires of learning something new will eventually discover their own nirvana. Nowadays, I can say that I am a “rider.” It became a part of me and shall remain connected to my persona forever.
As for my running, I am still a scared (but ballsy!) teenager heading for my first prom. I will stumble through the rush of my “first kiss” and suffer through the regret of my “first break-up.” I am sure I will continue to question my choice of bringing running into my life. And perhaps my love of running will take a different path than the one I am on right now… perhaps my body will dictate an alternate outcome… Regardless, the fire is ignited. My heart has opened up and engulfed this new sport. My lack of confidence and my fear of failure is not a deterrent. It only fuels the flame to figure it out. I have felt the joy of running… and it feels good. Ahh… amore!!!
Picture above is Toby, Lauren, & Julia at the 2005 Lil' Longhorn 5K
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2006 - burned out and gone...
2007… Bring it on!!!
And so we welcome in a New Year. Are you ready? Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? What is a resolution anyway?
A resolution is nothing more than a decision to do something. So what is the big hubbub about making them each year??? It causes quite a stir! And so often they are made with the expectations of being broken. Then why make them at all?? Why make decisions that you would not expect follow through? I guess it is because no one ever thinks about what a resolution really is. Surely they are made with some hope and desire! But, after all, the resolution is merely a decision…nothing more.
A resolution without motivation is like a car without a motor. It may be shiny and new but without a motor it cannot be put into action. Many things can affect one’s motivation. Unclear objectives, fear of the unknown, lack of knowledge, and laziness are just a few of the stumbling blocks to motivation. Whatever the issue, your own resolution requires your own power to drive it forward.
If you look around my website, you will find a spattering of quotes throughout. I think that quotes serve a great purpose! They ignite motivation. Like prayer or faith, they inspire strength to continue on with your pursuit of your own happiness or goals. Motivation is the key to living your decisions. If a quote can be uplifting or energizing then read on! The resolution you make is only the start. It is motivation that takes your ideas and makes them a reality.
“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
Thanks to race car driver Mario Andretti for that one…as well as…
“If you wait, all that happens is you get older.”
These are just a couple of the quotes that I remember now and again when I need my own motivation. I have so many that I enjoy! And this is why you will find so many hidden in the pages that you visit here.
Motivation is an ongoing challenge for all of us. Of course it is one of the biggest concerns of a teacher but it is truly a task for everyone. Whether you are a friend, a mother, or a boss…we all have opportunity and/or obligation to motivate others. And, for us to enjoy and live our own lives fully, we have to have the drive to motivate ourselves. Quotes, dreams, experiences, love, friendship…many things can be used to motivate you.
“Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Charles Swindoll
When we understand this, we know that the resolution is only the start. What becomes of your decisions is purely up to your own motivation, desire, and perseverance. It is about your ability to self-motivate and trust in your own strength regardless of what life throws at you.
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” Louisa May Alcott
This is one of my favorites because it is about keeping the faith in you. It is about being persistent and sticking to something because you truly want it and believe in it. It is about enjoying the journey (however difficult) because it brings you closer to your own dreams and desires. It is about not being afraid to discover what is inside of you and who you really are.
So…back to these resolutions… I think that when we make these decisions each year, they are all things that we wish for on some level. I think that the ones that we do not follow through on are ones that are just not that important to us at the time (even if they seemed like a good idea when you thought about it.) But, I also think that sometimes we should give these decisions a little more credibility. Perhaps we shouldn’t look at them as merely a duty that one performs to whisk in the New Year. Perhaps we should realize that a resolution can be made whenever a passion strikes your soul…when you know you are ready to “take a breath and jump over the side.” These are the resolutions that are truly a part of you. And these are the ones that will fuel the fire of motivation. Call it desire, passion, or obsession. These are the decisions that we wish for on every level. And this is what a New Year’s resolution means to me. You are entitled to your own dreams. Think about what it is that stirs your soul and feeds your enthusiasm. And then…
“Carpe Diem”
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A GOOD READ...
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Check out the following books by Lou Holtz:
Winning Every Day
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Wins, Losses, & Lessons
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© Copyright 1999-2009, Parallels. All Rights Reserved.
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