patience

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It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Preparing to prepare is a little like preparing to be a distance runner.  You have to want to prepare.  You have to know why you are doing it and why it is worth the sacrifice of time and resources.  You have to schedule a time to do it.  You have to budget some money for it.  And, you have to DO your plan.  All of this takes time.  Be patient with yourself.  New athletes or people trying to lose weight often fall, crash and burn on the very same hurdle:  Too Much Too Soon.  Take small steps.  This is a lifestyle change.  Work it in to your priorities and your way of life.  Make a spot in your schedule.  Take it easy on yourself.  Small consistent steps will get you and keep you places where short, exhausting bursts never can.  That is the purpose of this site:  to provide support for you while you become a person who is and continues to be peacefully prepared. 

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Fifteen

English: Female surfer in Maui

English: Female surfer in Maui (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve asked many doctors
if there is a cure
for my common malady,
a case of teenager.

They each assure me it’s normal
but rich they’d surely be
if they could prevent the storms
most teens seem destined to see.

They say that just a few short years
is all it should reasonably take.
If waiting is the answer, then,
I pray my patience won’t break.

I wish I could keep you sheltered here
and ignore the reality of harm,
but you must learn to swim and swim hard,
not just on seas safe and warm.

I must let you struggle
and fight your way to strong.
One day I’ll see you proudly surfing
and know I wasn’t wrong.

© 2012 DarEll S. Hoskisson
written July 5, 2012
posted today in honor of my daughter’s last day of fifteen

A teen she knew from her high school just got shot and killed over the weekend. It isn’t something to take for granted, making it to sixteen. Always grateful for one more day with my family.