Beautiful Heroes!

I have been musing about what "beauty" is...is it someone under age 30..is it eye color and skin smoothness?  Is beauty a lack of wrinkled eyes, wrinkled neck or greying hair?  Is beauty a matter of energy.."youthful" energy..running 8 minute miles and hiking extreme peaks in record times?

No, to me beauty is what shines from within. 

J.R. Martinez is so handsome..so beautiful..he radiates joy for life...gratitude for life...and this is coming from a man who came so close to losing his life in defense of his country.  J.R. is my hero!

J.R. Martinez is one handsome man!

And there is Carla Nash, the woman who was mutilated by her friend's Chimpanzee.  She received a new face....with more courage than I can ever imagine.  She is so grateful to be able to eat solid food and smell again.  She is blind and still does not have feeling throughout her face, but she doesn't care..she is so grateful to be alive.  She also said that people tell her she is beautiful now, she said no one ever called her beautiful before the attack.  She is amazing...I am in awe of her.  You are truly an incredibly beautiful woman Carla! You are one of my heroes!

Carla's lovely new face reflects her inner beauty!

 

To me J.R. and Carla are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!  They are so inspiring!

The people the media portray as the "beautiful" ones cannot hold a candle to J.R. and Carla.  The Kardashians, the Hilton's, the filthy spoiled rich are not beautiful...they are more like the freak shows in the circus..botox enhanced.....retouched with plastic surgery....even an x-ray to "prove" a big butt is "real", not "enhanced".  People want to gawk at them and see how different their frivolous lives are from the real world.  They may be people of "interest", but they are not heroes.

We need more heroes and far less "freakishness"!  Beauty is not skin deep...it truly comes from within!

Onward!

I have slowly been getting back to my running schedule.  I do not like the shorter days with daylight savings time because I have to do my runs in the early morning.  I hope to increase my mileage this week to 16 miles; I know I can do it.

I feel sad that I might have to leave Califon, New Jersey.  It is a beautiful town and it has so much history with my family.  But my sister will want her share of the estate and I cannot afford to buy her half of the house plus pay my mother's final bills.  I guess I will figure it out in time; where ever I wind up it will be the start of a new "history"  for me.  Life is meant to continue.. never stagnant, always in motion.

Five years ago when my husband Tom and I came here to take care of mom (for what we thought would be a few months) I thought I would be back in Pennsylvania soon.  Now it is not clear where I will wind up; I guess it is quite the adventure!

I have my health...I have my work...I have my passion for writing, running, biking and walking.  I have so much to look forward to.  I am excited to move onward; to see what life has in store for me next!

One thing I know...I registered for the St Luke's Half-Marathon in April 2012 and this time I am going to finish!

St Luke's Half- Marathon

Where Do I Go From Here?

I have to admit I am feeling a Little lost.  All the things I thought were important I now question.  I have the rest of my life to live and I am not sure how or where I want to live it.  I used to talk to my mother about "things" or my husband about "things"..but they are now gone.

I guess it just takes time to figure it out.  Not too much time...just a bit of time.

I am missing mom so much...believe me when I say I am raw and in pain.  My precious Aunt Alma, mom's 95 year old sister, was here the last few days going through some of my mother's "boxes of memories" keeping what needs to be kept and throwing out what can be let go.  I love Aunt Alma so much; she has been a second mother to me my entire life.  She and mom seemed like oil and water at times...and then the very best of friends.  Aunt Alma gave the most wonderful speech at mom's memorial service.  People who never met mom, or only knew her a little, walked away feeling they had known her forever.  What a gift to give to your little sister!

My mother gave me a gift.  When I was going through some of her "boxes of memories" I found a Little article she submitted to the Express Times back in 1990:

I never knew she wrote this little paragraph...thank you mom!  I think I was the one to get the "wonderful present"...the very best mother!

My beautiful wonderful mom!