Friends and a great cause can make you light on your feet

The summer before my freshman year of high school, my older sister invited me to go on a run with her. I was a soccer player. But I had never gone for a long distance run. For fun. Just because.

We ran four or five miles that day, and it felt amazing. I was hooked. A few weeks later, I signed up for cross-country, and I ran. And ran. And ran.

It was one of the only activities that seemed effortless to me.  I could run for miles and miles. And I always had a kick at the end.

Of course, there was one reason I felt so light. I was only 92 pounds at the time.

Broad Run High School running girls - 1989

But more than that, I simply loved the experience. The wind in my ears. My mind letting go as I entered the zone. The people cheering me on. The friends I made.

Running became a different experience years later. I'm not so light and free anymore. I've been pregnant. I chase after two kids. I work a lot, and because I'm a writer (an occupation for which the motto for success is "Ass in chair"), I sit. And sit. And sit.

But that 13-year-old runner girl was still in there somewhere. I just needed a little inspiration to coax her out.

Fellow Inspired Winer Allison Greiner and her son Matthew became that inspiration for me. Last year, Allison invited me to join her in running the Disney Half-Marathon for PPMD's Run for Our Sons.

A half-marathon. Hmmm. I had been thinking about getting back into running, but a few 5Ks and the occasional 10K was all I had in mind. I couldn't imagine having the time to train for 13.1 miles. And, honestly, I had no desire to run more than 5 or 6 tops.

Cindy, Mary, Allison and me 

But a good friend had made a generous invitation. She trusted me to take on the challenge. And here's the bottom line: Life is going to get challenging for Matthew. How could I say 13 miles was too much when such a feat may never be a possibility for him?

Matthew inspired me throughout my training program. Anytime "My Body" came on my iPod, I thought of him.

"My body tells me no. But I won't quit. Cause I want more. I want more. It's my road. It's my war."

On January 12th, Allison and I joined our friends Mary and Cindy for the Disney Half-Marathon. That Saturday morning, we woke up at 3AM, hopped on the monorail, and joined more than 23,000 other runners at the starting gates. Music pumped from speakers that were taller than I am. Fireworks lit up the black sky to signal the start.

The energy of the entire experience carried me the whole way. Being there with my friends. Watching the sun rise over Magic Kingdom. Waving at the characters and high-fiving spectators and kids from high school marching bands. People were genuinely excited to see the runners and cheer us on.

Some of their signs made me laugh - "Toenails are for sissies," one read.

Others made me incredibly grateful. "I don't know you, but I'm proud of you." That sign reminded me of the many generous donors who had donated to my fundraising page and cheered me on. Friends, relatives, and some people I haven't even seen in decades got involved. Their support was humbling.

At the finish!

Allison, Mary, Cindy and I crossed the finish line arm-in-arm. Then we huddled up, heads together, silent for a few moments.

I never imagined all those miles would feel so good. Every single step was pure adrenaline and joy. I could have run 13 more. I was light once again.

Free.

Inspired.

Andrea Spencer is copywriter and speechwriter for The University of North Carolina at Greensboro as well as a professional writing consultant and a mentor to fiction and non-fiction authors. She holds a BA in English Literature from High Point University and an MFA in Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University. Andrea is a wife and mother, soccer coach and one of the founding members of InspiredWining.com. She is currently seeking representation for her novel The Promise of Water.

Inspiration - Olympics style

I don't know about you, but I love the Olympics. I can't get enough of them. I tolerate a constantly running television to make sure I catch track and field, gymnastics, swimming, diving, field hockey, table tennis, and -- who knew - trampoline.

I find it so inspiring that many of these athletes train most of their lives for this moment. It's thrilling to imagine them as young boys and girls, the time when a seed was planted in their souls - the hope that they, too, would someday perch proudly atop the podium as the crowd cheers and their flag ripples before them.

And now they've made it. This time, to London -- all the training and the sacrifices leading them to a collection of moments in which they have to be at their very best. Total victory or the crush of defeat (if you can call it defeat) is determined by the narrowest of margins... and then it's over in a breath, it seems. Until the world's greatest gathering of athletes meets again four years.

Tomorrow at 2:45 PM, my favorite team of all, the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team takes on Japan for their fourth gold medal. Their 4-3 nail-biter, semifinal win (seriously, my own fingers are proof) ended with a goal by Alex Morgan in the last 30 seconds of overtime. Inspiration at its finest.

In honor of the Olympics, I thought I'd share a few other inspirational Olympic moments and images...starting, of course, with Jennifer Ennis' abs (you heard me.) Please leave a comment and share your own sources of Olympic inspiration.

Dailymail.co.uk

Okay, so Jennifer Ennis. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon, which was impressive to say the least. But also inspiring are her chiseled abs. As an Inspired Winer, I also love that in a recent story by The Sun she plans to enjoy some wine post competition. "I'm definitely going to relax, eat lots of rubbish food, have a few glasses of wine, and enjoy this moment for as long as possible," she said. Cheers to that!

Next on the list are pretty much everyone else's abs, including but not limited to: English footballer Micah Richards, Brazilian beach volleyball babe Juliana Silva, U.S. freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs, English diver Tom Daley, and the entire U.S. Men's Swim Relay Team.

Michael Steele/Getty Images

How about South African Oscar Pistorius, who made history by becoming the first double-amputee athlete to compete in track & field? Oscar made it all the way to the semifinal in the men's 400 meters. According to a NY Times article, he did not look disappointed when finishing last in the semifinal. Instead, he was overjoyed with his accomplishment.

And, as you might imagine, I have to give a shout out to Alex Morgan for that game-winning goal against Canada. But I can't do that without giving a ton of credit to teammate Megan Rapinoe. Without her two back-to-back goals, the U.S. wouldn't have been able to clinch the win in the final seconds and earn that gold medal game spot. The video is worth a look.

BBC

And while there are so many more people and moments to celebrate about the Olympics, I'll end by giving props to Queen Elizabeth. She took us all by surprise during the opening ceremonies by showing us that despite the royal family's long tradition of formality and reservation, there is indeed a time to cut loose and have fun.

Not only was it hilarious to imagine her skydiving down into the center of all the opening ceremony action, it was fun to detect a little nervousness in the debonair Daniel Craig as he performed the Bond skit alongside the Queen. Cheers to her for reminding us that shared laughter is another form of inspiration...a language that transcends borders and cultures.

I’ve had it with being too busy. Who’s with me?

I think we're facing an epidemic -- everyone seems "sick" with busy, over-scheduled lives these days. Look around and tell me who hasn't been stricken. I’d say it’s a stage of life thing, but even the retired people I know seem burdened with too many to-dos.

How many times in a given week do you or those in your circles comment about how busy life is? We’re all so busy it seems that all we have time to talk about is how busy we are. In fact, calling our lives “busy” isn’t even accurate anymore. We’ve coined a new term for the level of insane over-scheduling and to-dos we take on; we call it “crazy busy.”

“Hi, Sarah. How are things going?”

“Good. Crazy busy, but everyone’s doing well. How about you?”

“Same. Slammed at work. Hectic at home. As a matter of fact, it’s so great to see you, but I need to run. I had to leave my yoga class early so I could pick up Katie from soccer and get her to the sitter. Joe and I both have meetings tonight. Let’s schedule a lunch soon when I’m not so crazy busy, okay?”

“Yeah, and this time we’ll actually go!”

I've had conversations similar to this. Have you? Sometimes I think I even see a call for help in a friend's smiling, but frantic eyes. "Everything's great! Please call me an ambulance right now because I think I'm going to drop right here in Target," they seem to be saying. That’s not just busy. That’s crazy busy. When we can’t stop and talk to a good friend for more than a few moments without looking at the clock. When we give our children a hasty kiss and move them from one caregiver to another, promising to play Candy Land tomorrow. When we don’t share with our spouses what’s going on at work because there is no time or energy to have a meaningful conversation about our days beyond our plans for managing the next day.

Am I exaggerating? Over dramatizing? Or does this sound familiar to you as well?

While it’s possible I could use some tips on how slow my life down a bit (maybe even an intervention), I don’t think I am alone. On one hand, it seems that I have a number of friends who appear to navigate through their own busy schedules with more grace and ease than I do. But I have an inking they are just as burdened, behind and bewildered by the busy-ness.

The moments when I marvel at my friends who are managing more children or more work responsibility or more charities, I remember the saying that some wise person once said (I was too busy to look up exactly who): “Don’t compare your inside to other people’s outside." 

There’s a lot of truth to that, isn’t there? I bet you any money, the laundry pile at 9 out of my ten closest friends is just as high as mine right now. I bet, like I do, they have hundreds of pictures waiting to be printed. Birthdays that creep up on them before the gifts are bought or the cards mailed.

Even so, that’s little solace when my overscheduled weeks and overflowing to-do lists leave me feeling as though I’m missing out on my real life – the one I want to look back on fondly and proudly, not with regret.

How does your crazy busy life affect you? To me, it’s a feeling of being consumed. My time, my thought process, my creativity, my ability to execute all of the ideas swarming around in my head – all of these are tapped out. And yet there is so much more I want to do with my life, so much I want to give to others.  

I don’t want to be busier; I want to be more productive.

Me...before I knew what "busy" meant.

I want to finish my novel (again) and query agents.

I want to cook more meals, healthier meals.

I want to spend more time soaking up my children’s voices, the feel of my son’s little hand in mine, the last years of my daughter’s girlhood.

I want to better nurture my marriage so that our eventual empty nest won’t feel so empty.

I’m tired of doing more. I want to be more – for people I love and even for people I’ve never met.

Now before you ask me if I would like some more cheese with my “whine,” let me say this: I do have hope that I can better master my schedule with the right changes. I can continue my efforts to live more in the moment. And, indeed, I have a lot of meaningful experiences with my family, in my career, and through my volunteering. Inspired Wining is case in point. I’ve been involved for six years now, and I can very truthfully say, every single moment has been enriching. I hope you have people and projects that fill your life with meaning, or at least help you balance out, in some way, the challenges of being crazy busy.

I’d love to hear from you.  I plan to write a “Part 2” to this post in the near future and share tips for avoiding the pitfalls of being too busy. Or simply post a comment and tell me what you would do if only you had more time. Maybe just the act of expressing it here will give you the idea or fortitude you need to make it happen. (And the same goes for me!)

"The Way" of Inspired Wining

My husband and I watched a movie a few weeks ago that just won’t seem to let go of me. It’s a film called “The Way” starring Martin Sheen and written and directed by his son, Emilio Estevez. “The Way” tells the inspirational story of a man’s trek along the Camino de Santiago (also known as The Way of St. James), a collection of centuries-old pilgrimage routes across Europe.

Tom (played by Sheen) did not set out to make the pilgrimage. In fact, when his son (played by Estevez, of course) asks him to come along, he considers the weeks-long trek impractical at best.  

“Most people don’t have the luxury of just leaving it all behind,” Tom says.

But then he finds that he must go. When Daniel succumbs to a fatal accident in the Pyrenees, Tom’s mission quickly becomes to honor his son's desire to finish the journey. He carries Daniel with him, sprinkling his ashes over landmarks along the 800-kilometer route.  

I have to thank fellow winer Tiffany Crenshaw for making the recommendation during our Girls Weekend/Movie Marathon in February. (Although little did she know that Estevez is a man after the Inspired Winers’ hearts – a winemaker under the label Casa Dumetz.) Tiffany saw something special in the preview. Something she knew our group would appreciate because of the bonds we share – as parents, as women who value inspiration, and as friends on our own journey, a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

“The Way” has gorgeous cinematography, a beautifully composed soundtrack, and a satisfying blend of heart wrenching and amusing moments captured through the interactions of Tom and the unlikely friends he meets. (Not to mention, lots of wine drinking!) As you can imagine, a movie like this offers plenty of connections to our own lives. The metaphors abound.

This trip that once seemed absurd to Tom ultimately becomes profoundly meaningful. Can’t we all relate to resisting a journey we know we have to take? And aren’t we often pleasantly surprised by the rich experience, the camaraderie, the support we find when we open ourselves up to the journey?

I think about the trek my fellow Inspired Winer, Allison, is on right now in honor of her own son. She’s going the distance for Matthew. Fighting for his quality of life and trying to imagine what the road is like for him. Doing everything she can to lengthen the time he has to be mobile, active and healthy, as every young man should be. I also think about my walk with her. Sometimes I feel I am doing so little, that my efforts are mere footsteps compared to what lies ahead. But then I remember the value of simply “being there” to help my friend navigate, to scale the mountains and shoulder the weight when she needs a break.

That’s what Wednesday Night Wine is for. It’s a time out for tired moms and friends who might otherwise let too much time go by without seeing one another. And on a larger level, that’s what Inspired Wining is for. Helping other women navigate the challenges and opportunities of fundraising for the causes that mean the most to them. Perpetuating our own cause as Wednesday Night Winers – the fight against DMD to make the way easier for boys like Matthew.

At the end of "The Way," Tom discovers the difference between "the life we live and the life we choose.” The movie is a beautiful and touching reminder that even when we are handed challenges, like learning a child is afflicted with a very troubling disease, we can still choose our lives by the way we live them. We choose to create something positive out of the bad news. We choose to celebrate the good news. We choose our friends. We choose to have faith.

And we choose to believe in our own human ability to make the world better.