Labor Day and Tree Frogs

I'm about to admit to a significant fault of my ignorance. As with many people (at least I hope I'm not the only one) I don't know what Labor Day is really about. I'm sure it was something patriotic where the early Americans fought against somebody and won against all odds, or it was a group of under privaledged workers who went on strike for better pay, something along those line to honor something great that someone did. But I know what it means to the majority of people today.....CAMPING!!!! (sad, but true. And you know it) With camping that means JUNK FOOD!! All those goodies that under normal circumstances you deny yourself. But when you're out in the fresh air in the woods, (or in a campground with a 26 ft. trailer ), you're dirty from being outside (again, trailer....with running water), and you're deprived of modern amenities (TRAILER) a person deserves to splurge, right?

Needless to say I ate my way through 5 glorious days of no running. Tonight was my "welcome back" run. And for the first 1/2 mile I felt like God. Then I realized that I hadn't run in 5 days and have eaten nothing but junk (but delicious) food. I did find my pace and eventually came to the conclusion that if I want to succeed in my marathon goal I'm going to have to take better care of what I put in my body. BUT I don't have to stop living either. Its okay that I'm not at an 8 minute mile pace yet. Its okay that I'm not running 10 miles at a time. At least I'm trying and I know I'm getting better

I had 30 minutes of jogging to myself to think about all these things and about 1/4 mile from my house when I saw it. A lone tree frog sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. And anyone who knows me knows my long LOVE of frogs. Naturally I had to catch this little frog and find a more suitable home for it. I walked with it cupped in my hands and found one yard, a nice green little yard. But then 1/2 a block ahead was a yard with the sprinklers running. A hah! This MUST be a better frog home. But upon arrival there were no big bushes, just grass. So I kept walking, clutching this little frog to my chest. Luckily its dark outside so no one saw me. They'd probably think I was having a heart attack if they had watched my previous laps and now I'm walking by with my hands clutching my chest. I did finally find the little guys a great home in an African Daisy bush, with a green yard, next to a big field, where I know the owners water at least once a day. Yes the frog lives in my backyard now.

So at the end of the day I'm still here. I'm still trying to meet my crazy idea of running a marathon.

Thank you to the patriots, rioting coal miners, or great people that have given me a three day weekend/ camping trip. And thanks to my new neighbor the tree frog who let me walk the last 1/4 mile home :)