Goal

It's my goal to catch-up and blog more often.

Just sayin'.

(This one counts)

remembering

His rock collections, his voice. His vitamin D milk. Ice cream sandwiches, candy jars, his old wooden paddle. His chair, his glasses, his fish tank. “Well, well, well.” and “Let me look at you…” and "Hello. Mitch Fisher speaking." His green painted home, the tree house, the sandbox. Tether ball, cereal, his back porch. His old western movies, church mints…the mood-o-meter. Sitting in his chair, watching time go by. Reading letters, looking through photos, sharing memories. His kindness. His gentleness. Caring. His blessings, his age-worn hands. His slippers and cane. His smile, his laugh, his love for his wife. He is the man I will remember. He is my grandpa.

My Grandpa Fisher passed away this morning in his home. Grandpa hasn’t been “grandpa” for quite some time now. He has mourned the loss of his dear wife for 15 long years, gone down hill since 2002, and has been bed-ridden for the past year, barely able to sit up. He has waited for this day to be with the love of his life and all of us are happy for him. Finally with grandma, with Uncle Rob, Uncle Mike. His mother, his father, lost grandchildren and more. Grandpa has finally made it home safely. After 94 years of life on earth, he has finished what our Father in Heaven had in store for him. Now, he can accomplish what is needed with those he has missed for so long.

*-*-*

Dear Grandpa,

I will miss you. I will always remember you, and your love for me. I can close my eyes and picture you in your awesome house, sitting in your soft chair, looking out the window or having a conversation with me. Do you remember when you tried to tell me about your dinosaur egg? How you called me the “unbeliever?” Well... I believe you grandpa, I do.

I love you and am so grateful for the memories made, the memories you have shared. I am saddened to have you leave, but am happy for the peace you must be filling. You have touched many lives, and influenced us all.

I hope one day, to be more like you.

I love ya grandpa, and will miss you.

Love,

your 40^th grandchild, Melanie

RAGNARLY

Yes. It has been awhile. But I've been a bit busy. Busy teaching, training, and getting ready for this...

Another RAGNAR! After the Las Vegas Ragnar, in October, a group of us from our previous team decided that we had to get the "Saints and Sinners" medal. You can only get this by doing the Wasatch Back (utah) and the Las Vegas one in the same calendar year. Yes. That meant we had to do the Wasatch Back in June and the Vegas one again in October.

Team #454 Save Our Soles rocked it!

This is the "before 180 miles" photo shot

12 runners. 36 legs. (don't try the math...it just means we each had 3 runs) 36 quick memories.

Keep in mind most of these will only make sense to the crazies I was with!

1. "That's all i'm going to say"---then comes Dena still sharing more...
2. traumatic shower experience (back to middle school nightmares)
3. wendy becomes the $2 shower whore (don't ask)
4. trying to sleep on high school front grass
5. Jaime and I got our engagement photos taken in a field while Tif was on her first run. You're ALL invited! ;)


6. Mistaking Tifany for old bald man (sorry Tif!)
7. Team throws me a gatorade bottle with gum taped to it across the highway..clever teammates! I get to search off road for it for a bit...
8. Wendy crosses the busy street to help dena's chaffing, almost earn STRIKE ONE!
9. Van 1 (us) lost some luggage...kind strangers return it.


10. Wendy completes her insane run! Is rewarded with serious mud on her teeth.


11. Getting roadkills (total of 13)
12. Being roadkills (refuse to count)
13. flashing wendy/ mooning jaime on their last runs! --That's how tired we were
14. SPEEDO team (to each his own...)


15. other team names crack me up! One of my favorites was,


16. Tifany- "people get me"-- gotta love her!


17. ruth-helen-nora. All one person. (I loved Nora--she was ornery)


18. Being at the wrong exchange with very little time to get to the next...
19. porta potties (splash backs are NASTY!)
20. looking like RAGNAR (not posting scary photo here...have some feet!)


21. jaime's hurt leg--first aid can't help--Tifany's real "nice" about it ;)
22. jaime running in with her family


23. getting to see the other van and cheer them on (love Libby!)


24. what kind of drunk would you be? (me-emotional drunk, nora-angry drunk)
25. beautiful scenery


26. last run downhill then surprise...UPHILL end! (=emotional me when handing off to wendy the last time)
27. spelling HELEN's name and doing the can-can


28. hardly any sleep (will do this to ya!)


29. hardly anything to eat (Twizzlers and Gatorade don't count!)
30. free smoothies at finish line
31. getting a massage while waiting for VAN 2 at the finish line (worth the wait!)
32. Wendy's masseuse not so worth the wait (quite large and extremely sweaty man)
33. Chieko sprinting to the finish line--no one can keep up with her.


34. Finishing 180 miles together!


35. losing jaime's wallet= extremely stressful night
36. finding jaime's wallet the next day on top of the van that drove through provo canyon and back to pleasant grove= relieving celebration in the middle of the street

Here we come Saints and Sinner's medal...can't wait!

Success

100 + miles of training, running in the rain, advice from Wendy, and innumerable laps around the track all tried to prepare me for THIS:

It all began on a cold, a very cold morning in Moab...

After waiting in line to get on the bus, we finally got on and headed through the canyon.

12.5 ish miles later, we were dropped off to hang around and wait until the race began. Wendy and I chose to spend this hour waiting in one of the many lines to use the porta-potty. I might add that it was freezing~ (not just the "potty"--the weather in general).

After hiking up the hill, we stood around and waited (again) for the race to begin. Finally...it started...and yet....we were still waiting....oh, that's right...waiting for the thousands of others ahead of us to go, so that we, the slower ones in the back, could move.

I will say this...it was exhilarating when we actually crossed the starting line and could see the road ahead of us, winding around, FILLED with racers. I felt part of something BIG, something GREAT.

That lasted for, oh, a mile. ;)

We did really well--considering it was uphill the ENTIRE way (ok, ok, maybe like 85%--but c'mon!) including the huge hill around mile 9! It was all worth it though while we ran to the beating drums, the sounds resonating off the canyon walls, as we left the beautiful, red canyon and headed into town. The drums were huge. They were loud. They were incredible. I was deeply inspired and quite emotional regarding the drums.

This half-marathon was hard; the last two miles were VERY hard. Thank goodness for Wendy and her encouraging words and techniques!

As we made our way to the finish line, I became overwhelmed. So grateful for the experience, for all the training, for all the GU, for my friend, my life, for the race.

After the race, we downed some much needed GATORADE, and spent the weekend hiking (yes, hiking) in Moab. Despite all of the uphills, the sore legs, and the cold weather, it was great. We were successful.

Nervous

I have one word to say....

NERVOUS

nerv·ous

   [nur-vuhs] Show IPA

–adjective

1.

highly excitable; unnaturally or acutely uneasy or apprehensive: to become nervous under stress.

2.

of or pertaining to the nerves: nervous tension.

3.

affecting the nerves: nervous diseases.

4.

suffering from, characterized by, or originating in disordered nerves.

5.

characterized by or attended with acute uneasiness or apprehension: a nervous moment for us

6.

Melanie

That's right....#6. The Moab Half-Marathon is Saturday morning and I am nervous!

Despite my "nervousness"....

• I'll try to think about the positive
• I'll try to anticipate the great tunes
• I WILL think about the inspiration I feel

AND...

• I'll have some "NERVE"

nerve

   [nur-v] Show IPA

–verb

• S: (v) nerve, steel : to get ready for something difficult or unpleasant
• S: (v) heart, mettle, nerve, spunk: the courage to carry on

Nervous v. Nerve

13.1 miles....BRING IT ON!

Surprise!

I've never had a surprise party for my birthday before...I've never had my ears pierced....

SURPRISE!

I got all (plus more) in one day...

Part I:

These cute kids (a handful of girls, the masterminds) decorated while I was at lunch and had some of my favorite things all around the room--I got enough York Peppermint Patties and Whatchamacallit's to last at least an entire year!

It really was cute...Plus--what a great gift of going off-track for 4 weeks!!!

Part II:

I was standing in the kitchen. Wendy's kitchen. Telling her about what the kids at school did for me, waiting to go to the mall. We were going to go look around. We started talking about the cute necklaces with matching earrings one of my student's got me. Somehow getting my ears pierced became part of the conversation--and I hesitantly agreed. What?!!

We got to the mall, and sure enough Wendy didn't let me get away with putting it off any longer...

After I "signed my life away" and asked all the questions there could ever be asked it happened.

Emma was feeling a little jealous...so what the heck, she got her's done too!

(Notice how much braver she is)

Part III:

Leaving the mall in a hurry, due to an errand Wendy had to run for Jeff, we headed to the bowling alley by Provo High School. (Otherwise known as Fat Cats).

Wendy was meeting a guy from Jeff's work to pick up some computer parts he needed. We wandered through the building until we came to Costa Vida (still couldn't find him). She asked if I'd like to eat here and I thought that sounded great! She smiled and kept walking, led me right into a room full of friends from my ward. SURPRISE!!!

(No photos were taken, sadly, but it was a good time, and definitely a surprise!)

Part IV:

As if my birthday hadn't been celebrated enough, I came home to this.

My friend Amy, not only planned the surprise party, but decorated my room.

What an eventful day full of various surprises!

Thanks again everyone :)

A letter

Dear Fellow Runner,

With laced up shoes and high hope for success we begin our run. Some days the success can override the distance, other days it becomes too much.

As my feet hit the pavement and my breathing becomes deeper I turn up the music to drown out the sound. I listen to songs that have a good beat—including Coldplay, Rihanna, and yes….Miley Cyrus. A lot of newer songs, a lot of older songs. Sometimes I hear music that reminds me of the past—and I remember instances, places, conversations.

When the music gets old (because after 6 + miles, it does) I rely on my thoughts to carry me through. What do I think about? Anything. Everything. Sometimes the thoughts are focused and planned. At other times they’re sporadic and jumbled. But I think. Some days I think about how lucky I am to be running, to have time set-aside for myself. Most times, I think about how lucky I am to be running with someone. Someone who pushes just as hard. Someone who gets me going. Someone who has confidence and determination. And I forget. I forget that I am not the only runner. I am not the only one who needs the support. My forgetfulness is careless. I overlook what I should not.

Running is hard. In fact, I think running sucks. But the happiness I feel from accomplishing something hard, and accomplishing that something with someone I appreciate and love is the greatest success.

Thank you for the insight. For the distance, the over-come hurdles, the success. Here’s to the many miles and distance ahead!

Sincerely,

me

P.S. I found this quote…

“Success isn't how far you got,

but the distance you traveled from where you started.”

I think we’ve traveled pretty far.