Gilded Living

Perspective, belief, reality...they can change pretty fast. Mine were flipped upside down within 5 minutes today. Here's how: I was at my friend's gym this morning getting my butt kicked, doing 24" box jumps when he walked over and asked "Should I add the 12" on top?" I laughed, because COME ON, I just landed my first 30" jump a few weeks ago. He smirked over his shoulder as he walked away, saying "OK, we'll do it after class." I laughed and continued to jump in my comfort zone. But then, later, as I was working a heavy bag, I thought, "Hmm, Jordan has been pushing me for years in the right direction and because of it I've completed things I originally didn't think possible (pull-ups, a Spartan race, lifting heavier, punching harder...). What if this is one of them?" And so, after class, I stacked the boxes and stepped beside them. A 63" girl next to a 36" box. It was intimidating. I looked at my friend...

...one is silver, and the other gold! What's better than meeting up a girlfriend of 30+ years who also loves beer? Not a whole heLL (those are hockey sticks) of a lot! My friend Brenda and I met playing tennis though our south side town's parks and rec department in grade school, and then finally got to spend our days together in junior high. She was a staple in my life for years: we built a tree house, logged countless hours playing tennis and watching MTV (back when it played music videos), rode the city bus 15 miles to the book store every month or so to buy the new Babysitter's Club books (and then discussed them all at length, long before either of us knew what a book club was), and ate a lot of toast spread with cream cheese, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar! Those times were great, and so are our recent get-togethers...still talking books and tennis, but now with beer!