ENCOURAGED IN HEART

“Be better, not bitter…. oh,  fooey – who blogs about this stuff anyway?

Oh, that’s right I do.

This past May, I blogged about entering my very first triathlon with two girlfriends, Joann and Kerry. This past Sunday, was the much-anticipated triathlon where I was a tad bitter better.  My participation in the tri was not as I planned.

Like C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchiao and Matt Dillion, I was an “outsider”.  To save you from the entire three-month sob story, I brought my injured, bitter better attitude, knee and hamstring through one month of physical therapy, orthopedic consultation, to be currently popping two prescription anti-inflammatory pills daily.  I’m happy to report that my hamstring is better.  As for my knee and attitude, well, we’re working on being better, not bitter. And for the record, the humble pie that stemmed from my last blog post doesn’t taste nearly as good as a traditional apple pie…you know the kind with the crumble topping!

I’ve never been a good “on the sidelines” kind of athlete or person…no, I want to be in the game!

And perhaps, just perhaps…that’s where God needs to strengthen me?!?

Patience, Grasshoper.

So my team adapted and reorganized.

I joked in May’s blog post as my team and I, in our dented keen sense of humor, formed like Charlie’s Angels. Well, now we have a “Charlie”…but his name is John and he took my place on the bike.

Blood, sweat (heart) and tears…that was my team.

John brought the blood.  Mid bike ride, the screw on his right bike pedal cleat just plum fell out.  No real shocker to those that know me that his being on my team made John have a few “screws loose”.   When competing as a team, there are two bands that one member needs to pass to the other, before starting the next portion of the race.  Since John’s foot was basically super glued to the pedal, he sacrificed his body, and some blood to the pavement to make the transition time flow quicker.  But he’s not bitter…he’s still smiling.

As for the sweat… Kerry, John and Joann gave it in spades.  First, Kerry in the pool…(here, getting ready to smoke past three dudes in the pool),

next John on the bike,

to finish off with Jo, who kicked it into sprint mode to smoke the runner in front of her into the finish line.

As for the tears…I just can’t help myself; every time I hear our national anthem played (before the tri kicked off), I get a little soggy.

My team kicked butt and finished fourth out of the twelve teams that competed! GO TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m getting “better”…at cheerleading my team throughout the race!

This Labor Day as we take a break from the hussle and bussle of our normal everday lives, take the time to reflect on an an area where you are “tri-ing” to be better…not bitter.  Please leave a comment so we can encourage one another to keep getting better!

This morning as I looked out my office window to admire the overcast sky, I found my neighbor, the neighbor, in which I asked two years ago, to please put his rottweiler on a leash. I felt very uncomfortable doing so because I love both dogs and peace, but I mustered up the courage and asked him anyway.

Let me just quickly summarize – it didn’t go well.

The neighbor adamantly declared that his dog was well-trained and obeyed commands and didn’t need a leash. Then to prove just how obedient his dog was, he called the dog, and his dog was all like,

(photo from Google)

“Huh, dude?” and ran away from his owner.

Can ya stand it?

Back to today…

One hour after the rottweiler freely frollicked in the grass near my home, I drove away with my apprehensive kindergartener and eager second grader to meet their new school teachers. Seconds into the drive, I noticed that my sexy minivan had a wobble to it. Just to clear the air, the wobble was not due to my champion eating session(s) at Stacey’s wedding weekend…okay? The wobble was a flat tire.

Since the Finkster was working from home, the boys and I did the car/car seat exchange fire drill and made it to school on time…YES! Go team Fink! only to be parked right behind a familiar man. The man, that made the way low offer on our home.

Am I on Punk’d? Is Aston Kutcher going to jump out from behind a bush and say, “Slam…you’re so punked?”

Nope, no Aston.  With rolled eyes, I just had to laugh.  “You can be bitter or better…but ya can’t be both” is a phrase that Joyce Meyer often says. And I realized that I have choices, many choices, all throughout the day, particularly this day.

As we walked past his abandoned car, I noticed that he left his side door open.

Yes, I closed it…and laughed again.

There are endless opportunities to be bitter or better. I actually told my dolphin watching girlfriend, Leslie K, yesterday that, “I feel like the enemy planted idiot bulbs this past spring and that the idiots are in full bloom this summer.”

Sorry if the word “idiot” sounds a tad harsh…it’s actually a whole lot better than what I would have spoken fifteen years ago…where my language mirrored more of a Jersey Shore cast member. I may still be on the spazznastics mat, but my word choices…well, there’s some progress on that front.

All this to write, what’s inside, eventually comes out. When life throws ya a couple of lemons, don’t just take the bitter juice for what it is, make the better lemonade!

Where’s an area that you debating with yourself about being bitter or better?