Sunday, July 15, 2007

The Perfect Day

Yesterday I got myself and my kids up at 3:00 a.m. to go volunteer at the Lifetime Fitness Sprint and Olympic Triathlons.

I know, I know... already you are wondering why I titled this post "The Perfect Day"....

Well, it was perfect because:

1. Bobby told me he wanted to start getting up this early all the time because you get to watch the stars disappear, the sky turn colors, and then the sun arrive.

2. I got to cheer on about 50 of my friends from my own tri club and from clubs on the south and east sides of town. Some of these friends were with me when I ran my first marathon, and now we are all doing tri's together, too.

3. I got to wear my "Not Racing For a Reason... Leukemia and Lymphoma Society" pin and have people ask me about it.

4. I got to hold hands with my friends and pray (freely in public) in thanks for the beautiful day, the strong bodies we were given, the lives and lifestyles and opportunities (we often take for granted) that we have, that enable us to pursue fun hobbies like triathlon.

5. I got to volunteer with my lovely girlfriend Rachel, who took this picture of Ally and me. Those of you who know Ally's story will see volumes of deep meaning in this moment that Rachel captured.


6. I got to see my friend David get out of the water almost 3 minutes behind the leaders and then come in from the bike ahead of them all, starting his run with a 25 second lead.

7. I got to take a nap in the afternoon after I got home.

8. I got to take my children to the pool after my nap. And in the 75-degrees-sunny-and-gently-breezy twilight, we ate dinner together, and there was no fighting.

9. I got a call from a dear friend who is having some life-changing personal struggles. He called upon me, of all people, and asked to know more about Jesus.

10. And lastly, I got to share what I know to be True. And there is no greater honor to me, than to realize that His light in indeed shining through me.


And that is why I had The Perfect Day.

20 comments:

Spokane Al said...

It truly does sound like a perfect day. I expect your friends felt the same when they saw you out there cheering for them.

21stCenturyMom said...

Sounds like a lovely day.

Is it unusual to be able to pray freely in public? I hope not.

Iron Girl Nyhus said...

That's a great picture Jenny. I'm glad your friend called you, what a great choice he made. Love you!

Fe-lady said...

wow...perfect day indeed! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Tri Mom said...

Sounds like a perfect and awesome day! It's nice sometimes to be "on the other side" to cheer all the triathletes, as it's so awesome and heart-warming to be cheered for. Think of how many people you touched yesterday, including your friend that called on you!

brendaj said...

Very touching post...thanks for sharing. I hope to be as good of a cheerleader for my friend who's doing her first half IM in a few weeks.

Di said...

What a beautiful day. Thanks for sharing it with us

Born To Endure said...

I got goosebumps seeing that pic..beautiful indeed!!

Kewl Nitrox said...

A perfect day spent in the presence of our awesome Lord. It truly does not get better than that!

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

You are special to many people, Jenny. And you can count me as one of them.

Stay tuned...

Pharmie said...

That truly is a perfect day, and what a beautiful picture you have to remember it.

Unknown said...

Nice! What a truly wonderful day!!

Comm's said...

When I read magazines about top rated cities they usually have a perfect 24 or 48 hours on how to spend a weekend there.

Your's was much cooler and personal.

Spread the Good News.

jbmmommy said...

What a great day, and a wonderful picture. Thanks for sharing, you're obviously an inspiration to many people in many ways. Take care.

Steve Stenzel said...

What'ta day! I wish I could have been there! That's such a fun event!

Anonymous said...

It was great to have you out there on Saturday. It took me by suprise when I was walking into transition and you thanked me for participating with Team in Training. So, thank you for not racing for a reason!

Cliff said...

Iron Jenny..

thanks for the continuous support and encouragement...will be fun this Sun :)

Jumper 2.0 said...

That, Jenny, is the perfect day!

Is there still a way to donate to the L&L Society? Or is there any future events that I should be mindful of?

Just a little factoid, I worked as a oncology nurse for about 2.5 years. Inpatient hospital in St.Paul. We took care of the Leukemic patients that were neutropenic and required inpatient chemo. It's a really tough job, but not near as tough as it is for the patient.

I will be glad to donate time and money in the future.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jenny, just wanted to let you know that your comment on Tri Geek Dreams on "what the pope said last week," is just flat-out wrong. You left the Catholic Church for reasons you probably can't even define or defend -- except in ignorance.

Stick to talking about exercising.

SingletrackJenny (formerly known as IronJenny) said...

"Faithful people from Tacoma to Tulsa to Tijuana took notice this month when the Vatican reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church as the only path to salvation. Pope Benedict XVI’s stance that other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches had the potential to divide."

Here's the link.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/116226.html

I wouldn't make this up. I actually don't make anything up. Kind of one of the Ten Commandments about not bearing false witness.... ;-)

As with all my posts and comments, I write my own opinions. I am not asking you or anyone else to adopt them. So cheer up!

Also, you may want to know that I have sitemeter, so you don't need to be embarrassed to state that you hadn't read the news story. But please don't call me a liar on my own blog. Either apologize or I'll "out" you!