Pounding heart. Sweat. Speed. Laughter. The joy of the run.

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

I love this quote. It is my email footer at work. It's a constant reminder on those days, those tough days. After being up with my own kids throughout the night, having my other 83 kids meltdown, getting a walkthrough, unjamming the copier for the GAZILLION time. Having a day. It's there… "Be the change" ..One of my mission statements. Changing something in the world, I want to be different…having the mindset, it's not about me.

What I wanted this year was movement…...

I wrote about this awhile ago on one of my Facebook posts, but I wanted to share a bit more because of the positive impact this program has had on kiddos, parents, and others in the community.
I wasn't okay with one of my students not being able to fit into a sixth grade desk due to his size. Seeing it was a problem for him, we had to request that the custodian bring a different desk upstairs. I felt so uneasy, sad, helpless, for him… what can I do for this year to be different? Literally, day 1 of meeting him…he was my goal; some sort of change needed to happen. 

“The biggest takeaway we want the kids to get from this partnership with Marathon Kids is that they're athletes, too. By helping kids fall in love with sport, we’re helping break the cycle of inactivity.”

This was one of the first quotes that caught my eye when I read about "Marathon Kids," through Nike. YES! Inactivity is the nemesis of this generation. Look around; screens galore (that's a different post for another day). 

The more I read, the more I was hooked…and decided, this program was my answer:

The Marathon Kids program engages kids in a positive, simple, goal-driven running program that challenges them to run the equivalent of up to four marathons (from 26.2 miles to 104.8 miles) over the course of a three-, six- or nine-month running club season or school year. 
Upon reading this, how could it all work? I didn't want to single out one student…
I teach reading, not gym. 
Would other students want to do this? 
Should I apply for the grant…(something on my teacher bucket list that I never did before)… probably won't get it because my "why" isn't captivating enough, not what they are looking for….
Will any other students care about walking a marathon, or will they think it's lame?

With a lot of late nights, and searching through other school walking/exercise programs, the following things starting falling into place: 
*Receiving the grant: Nike waived the $15 fee for all of my students so they receive all rewards for free
*Asking if the gym was available Tuesday and Thursday mornings for walking.

 *Telling my kiddos the plan- (one class applauded).. "This is awesome!"  "We get to exercise BEFORE school?" "I'm getting more miles than you!"  "Thank you."
*Figuring out to calculate the laps to miles to rewards. One lap is 0.05 miles. Students grab popsicle sticks each time they take one lap around the gym. Girls pick up sticks from one side, boys from the other. 

                                                         Handy Dandy Conversion Chart

        Students record how many laps they walked/ran in one session on the Nike log: 

    Shirt for 1 marathon; shoelaces for 2;

shoe tags for 3; bracelets for marathon 4! 

 Kids aren't required to walk of course, but guess who shows up every time it's his scheduled session. Watching him consistently walk 8 laps, and now he is up to 12, I get teary-eyed. He's doing it. He's walking. He is making the choice to move. This movement could be the start of a new life for him, and that is why I'm so grateful for this program. 

Thank you to my teammates who have been supportive since lap one.

Thank you to the runner who completed her own Runner's World running log; wanting to experience the same inspiration and accomplishment of marathon runners for having this initial idea in 1995, which propelled Nike's idea for this program. 

Thank you to Chad Mann, the representative I've been in contact with, and told me the good news of the grant. Thank you for making sure my kiddo received his size 4XL shirt, which will hopefully be big on him when he earns it. 

Thank you to the kiddo who just reached mile 8 today.

 Thank you for not giving up as other kids are lapping you, but you keep smiling and walking. 

       Thank you Nike for allowing my team to be representative in this number:

Talk Less, Blog More

Sooo hello sweet summer! I can't believe it is summer vacation already. It feels surreal because I wasn't there the entire year...it's really over already?! Boxes packed, papers checked, or uh..recycled, grades in, summer on! I will definitely get my taste of stay-at-hom-momism over the next few weeks, and so far so good. I constantly feel like I second guess what I'm doing with Samuel though. Should we have a structured day planned? Should I have read him one more book? Should we do flashcards? Did I refer to Samuel,Mommy, Daddy,using our names instead of pronouns b/c he doesn't understand them yet? Sheesh. Then I go on my homepage and see a mom drove with her baby on the roof of her car and I don't feel so bad about my parenting. Unless that was part of Jackass 4, that lady is a cockledoo, to quote my gf *Bethenny*. My college friend Dana created a bucket list last year in honor of her 30th birthday. I am going to do something similar, but make it more short-term, and have the duration be this summer.. so here goes.. in no particular order: 1. Read my Bible more and blog more...I am not putting a definitive amount here b/c I don't want to set myself up for failure right off the bat. Needless to say, I'm not going to count my dailybible verse that comes through on my app as sufficient. I need to do more. I also need to blog more... I have a lot to say, so if you don't want to hear it, then read it. Talk less, blog more. 2. I hopped on the organization train as of last week, and unless I get majorly derailed (pun intended) my house will be labeled, categorized, color coded, etc. Every day I will take the approach of "bettering" one area or one room. 3. Okay let's get fun now.... I really want to get my final tattoo(s) this summer. I already have one on my right foot for my mom, Philemon 1:4- "I always thank my God when I remember you in my prayers". I am so glad I got this tattoo with my friend Adam Guthrie. That is such a special memory I have with him. My other tattoo I got with Kristin and Tiffany a few years ago. Josh and I were married at the time, so I didn't want to tell him I was going to get another tattoo b/c I knew he would say, "no" and I wasn't okay with "asking" my husband for permission.. what am I Florence Knightengale (did I just make that name up)? So I surprised him at dinner with my new ink, and he asked if it was temporary (kind of offensive to the tattoo artist). I explained that each color represented our favorites... me: yellow, Kristin: purple, Tiffany: blue. He said it looked like a Steelers tattoo. I compromised and said my reasoning for the new tattoo was twofold. :) The sides and locations of my tattoos are purposeful, well I hope that's always the case with tattoos. I like things to be even and balanced. So after tattoo # 1 was on my right foot, tattoo # 2 had to be on the left. Tattoo # 3 will be a huge cross in the middle of my back. Not sure yet on style, size, color, etc. but I have a few ideas. I would also like to get something in my mom's handwriting added to tattoo # 1 on my foot. 4. Be a good auntie to my niece, Elin. She is beyond sweet...so small, precious, and perfect. A gift from God...<3 her. 5. Be okay with self-actualization. The older I get, the more I discover about myself; the good, the bad, the Fugly. Yes that f is necessary... sometimes I catch myself and I think, ugh that's what annoys me about my dad, or what my mom used to do, and now I'm doing it. I'm annoyed with myself for something that annoys me about them, what gives? Something else I realized is I wait until things spiral out of control to take care of them. Examples: my hair in regards to washing and cutting, Samuel's toys at the end of the day, my disorganization. I'm glad I am aware of what I do, but I need to do things better. Speaking of Samuel is crying...more later xoxo