Showing Gratitude

It’s my favorite weekend of the year!!

That’s 135 pounds of tomatoes, 50 pounds of onions, a half-bushel of jalapenos, a crap-load of garlic, plus a whole bunch of green peppers.  Let the craziness commence, ha ha!  😉  This is my “canning weekend,” where I take two days off work and spend Friday through Tuesday doing nothing but canning salsa, spaghetti sauce, raspberry jam and blackberry jam.  It’s SO much work, but I LOVE it.  Like running, the efforts are always worth the rewards. 🙂

To gear up for the weekend, I did my Insanity workout on Wednesday night.  This one was “pure cardio” and let me tell you–it was quite humbling for this two-time marathon runner. 😮 I did not “kick ass” as I kind of half-expected to (I run 5 times a week, dammit!), but I can at least say I completed it and did not die, and I feel like that was a pretty damn impressive accomplishment.  This was the one routine where they made sure to show lots of people taking breaks, so I didn’t feel like a failure for the few short breaks I took. And hey–my husband says he actually stops the DVD and takes a couple of 2-3 minute breaks when he does it, and I never had to do that, so…winning. 😉

Last night, after I hit up the farm market for all my vegetables, I came home and did strength training.  As I’ve mentioned often, our weight sets are out in the barn, and right after I headed out there, the sky opened up and it poured for close to an hour!  I wish I could tell you how much rain we got, but…my rain gauge is broken. 🙁  (Yes, this is a very sad thing for me.)  It was a lot, though, of that I am certain.  I had lots of time to hang out in the barn while I waited for the rain to let up, so I took a few pictures. 

That second picture is basically what I see when I do many of my workouts, because my husband set up that mirror in a way that means I have to look at myself when I work out.  I used to really hate it, and I usually covered it with a towel, but lately, I’ve stopped doing that.  Yesterday, when I was at my chiropractor (a super-awesome runner who actually goes to other countries to run marathons regularly!!), he and I chatted about our upcoming races. (He’s doing the Berlin Marathon this month. Sweet!!!)  I talked about my upcoming half and how I’d like to beat my best time, but that I’m about 12 pounds heavier now than I was then.  He was shocked when I said that.  “Really? You’ve gained 12 pounds?!”  I said yes, and I mentioned that I’ve been doing some weight training, and he immediately said, “Well, you’ve definitely gained muscle, then, because you do not look like you’ve gained twelve pounds!”  My chiropractor is super-healthy and in great shape, so for him to be so complimentary of me made me feel really good. 🙂  I could have hemmed and hawed about how my pants are tight and how I just “feel” heavier, but instead, I simply smiled and said thank you.  I’ve gotten a lot better about not diminishing someone’s compliments and instead just showing gratitude for them.

So last night, when I was looking at myself in the “workout mirror,” I was a little more objective about it than usual.  I may not be exactly where I want to be, but I can at least say truthfully that I do like the girl in the mirror–she’s much thinner than she used to be, and also much stronger.  I was even motivated in increase the weight on most of my exercises because of that conversation.  (And now I’m sore today, ha ha!)

When I was at the farm market yesterday, buying all those vegetables, I bought my tomatoes first, because they were running out and I didn’t want to find them already gone by the time I checked out!  When you buy tomatoes by the bushel, you pay for them ahead of time and then drive up in your car, where someone will load them for you.  Usually, it’s a younger guy, but yesterday, it was a guy who looked a bit older, maybe in his 30s, and definitely big and brawny.  We chatted for a moment before he loaded them, and then, after he finished (and did such a good job organizing them so I would have more room for the other vegetables), I gave him $3 for doing it.  I always tip the “tomato loaders,” because I am so grateful that I don’t have to load 45-pound bushels by myself, ha ha!  This guy, however, seemed quite surprised, and didn’t want to take it right away.  I of course insisted, and he was so genuinely grateful, as if he never gets tips, and after he took the money, he said, “God bless you.”

Now, when someone says “God bless you” to me (and not because I sneezed), I consider that to be a true blessing. It’s just not heard often enough, in my opinion, and it really made my heart smile when he said it.  I thanked him and then re-parked my car and bought all my other vegetables.  On my way out for the second time, I kind of mentally groaned about having to load that 50-pound bag of onions in my car (lest you think I’m a wimp, I had already loaded it in the cart, damn it!).  But before I could even think to look for a possible helper, that same guy saw me wheeling my cart into the parking lot, noticed the onions, and he immediately walked over to me and said, “Here, let me load those onions in your car.”  Now it was my turn to be grateful, because I wasn’t really looking forward to having to ask.  And of course, after he loaded them, I tipped him again.  He didn’t want to take it, but I insisted, and once again, he was very grateful.  I left that market feeling really great–it’s amazing what a little kindness does not only for the recipient, but for the giver, as well!

And with that in mind, I want to say a great big THANK YOU to the people who commented on my last post.  I was feeling really down and unsure of myself the other day, and there were four people who took the time to make me feel better by commenting.  I know that a lot of folks either aren’t comfortable or don’t have time to comment on my posts, and I’m totally fine with that, but for those people to take the extra effort to encourage me just positively made my day.  And all their comments made me laugh, too! 🙂  (My husband thought thatseveral of them were hysterical. 😉 )

Most people probably don’t notice, but I make sure to end every post I make with a “thank you” for reading.  I do that because I want to make sure to show my gratitude.  Whoever you are, whether you comment all the time or never, please know that I really do appreciate you…knowing that my blog is read and (hopefully) enjoyed by others is the best gift I can receive for my efforts.  So–thank you!!!

See you next week–have a great holiday weekend if you are in the US or Canada! 🙂