THAT LEMONADE TASTES GOOD!!!

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity!" ~ Gilda Radner


2009 has turned out to be one of the most intriguing years of my life. If I would have tried to predict the course that it would have taken, I would have been SO wrong! If someone would have told me that I would partially tear and then completely tear my Achilles, that I would have had surgery, that I would not have competed in a single outdoor long jump competition, that I would not have competed in my 10th World Championships, that I would've experienced personal emotional ups and downs, that I would have joined Facebook lol or that I would/could go 8 months without working out at all and still maintain my 6 pack:-), I would have laughed at them over and over again and called them insane!

The fact is, not only have I gone through all that stuff, but I am probably happier than I have been in a long, long time. Sometimes it takes a huge upheaval or change in your life's plan for things to become clear. Our plans are not always His and sometimes without our understanding, we see the blessing that it truly is in the end. My injury forced me to slow down, literally and figuratively. To "smell the roses". To see what else life has to offer aside from track and field and long jumping and rest and lifting weights and traveling. For the past decade and a half, that's ALL I've known! Crazy, when you think about it.

I've become more social, I started playing the piano/keyboard again and I've joined the Women's choir at my church. I've met new people that have nothing to do with track in particular or sports in general. I've spent time with my friends and seen my parents a lot. I've been to dinner and the movies and bowling. I've been to every other comedy club in LA and laughed my head off. I've been to parties and the beach and I've had the time to develop some meaningful relationships.

I've become a Health & Wellness coach. Because of that, my nutrition, which I thought I knew a lot about, has improved significantly and I have to say is the sole reason that I attribute my current physique to. Who knew that you could be as lean and toned as you are from training 3-4 hrs a day just by following a particular nutrition program?? I certainly didn't but I'm so glad that I know now and I love sharing that with people. In that vein, I now co-run a Wellness program at an architectural firm in Santa Monica, with others to come and just got my proposal approved to run a similar program at my church where there is truly a great need.

I went to the Robin Thicke concert last night on a last minute whim and it was OK because I didn't have practice early this morning and so I could come home whenever. Ooooh that concert was fantastic! Love that guy:-) Yes, I've been inconvenienced by my injury and who knows whether my track career is officially over or whether I will be able to go out next year as I had planned, competing and enjoying my beloved sport and officially retiring at the end of 2010. I sure am gonna try but you know what this year has helped me to realize? That I will be OK either way. I've given my all to track and field and so in that regard, I have absolutely no regrets.

Life has a funny way of showing who's in charge and handing out those lemons. But I've made the heck outta some lemonade this year and I am REALLY looking forward to 2010. I know that bigger, better, even more satisfying and fulfilling experiences await me. New opportunities, new adventures, new goals. I'm excited to wake up every day because it just feels more and more like this puzzle that I call life is slowly being pieced together. And I am living and loving every moment of it!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!