LENT IS IN THE AIR

So...I woke up this morning to some disturbing news. I checked my bank account and I'm now $386 in the hole. Yikes. Normally this shit would eat away at me, but I'm taking it all in stride. This would usually put a damper on my day...hell, my week...to the point where I couldn't think about anything else. I used to say, "this, too, shall pass" - but I'm not sure I totally believed it. I was like, "SERENITY NOW". It might help that I have a new outlook on life. I have a special woman in my life, for one. I've also been reading The Last Lecture. It's gripping in that it's a professor who died last year of cancer and knew that he was going to die. So, he gave his last lecture on life. I was almost reduced to tears this morning, when I was reading chapter 17, "A New Year's Story". It's about when he and his wife had their first child on New Year's Eve and she had to be rushed to the emergency room due to "placenta abrupta". The words that struck me the most were at the end of the chapter...

Through the whole ordeal, I don't think we ever said to each other: "This isn't fair." WE JUST KEPT GOING. We recognized that there were things we could do that might help the outcome in positive ways...and we did them. Without saying it in words, our attitude was, "Let's saddle up and ride."

I just have to saddle up and ride. Positivity! It's all about having the right attitude and perspective. Anyway, the book is mainly him talking about living out your childhood dreams. While I can't remember what I did five minutes ago, much less what I was thinking at the age of five...I can tell you I've always wanted to be a runner, cyclist, and/or triathlete. So, here are some of my (many) dreams:

• Boston Marathon http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/113thMarathon.asp


• NYC Marathon http://www.nycmarathon.org/


• Pike's Peak Marathon http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/


• Great Wall of China Marathon http://www.great-wall-marathon.com/


• Western States 100 http://ws100.com/


• Kona Ironman http://ironman.com/


• Badwater http://www.badwater.com/


• RAAM http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/subwebraam/default.php?N_webcat_id=1


• 50 States Marathon Club http://www.50statesmarathonclub.com/50dc/index.html


• Manhattan Island Marathon Swim http://www.nycswim.org/Event/Event.aspx?Event_ID=1902

and last but not least...

• Decatriathlon World Challenge http://www.multisport.com.mx/deca2008/index.html

As you can see...I dream big. And I dream a lot. These are just a tiny few of my many dreams. But here's my big question though: How do I turn these dreams into goals? AND, more importantly...How do I turn these goals into reality? I'm not sure if I have the answer(s), but I'm on the journey to find out.