When One Door Closes Another Opens!

Just call me a slacker. Well, that's not entirely accurate given my schedule these days. But when it comes to this blog, I'm waaaaaay behind. So many travel and other posts to do, so little time.

Anyway, this post was originally titled, Everything happens for a reason. While I've always been a firm believer in that, I didn't think it would be the most appropriate title right now.

Nevertheless, in my old young age of {almost} 30, I think I've finally realized what the cliché phrase "when one door closes another opens" means. To say it's been a bit stressful around our house lately would be an understatement.

About a month and a half ago, Brent was laid off from his job. Thankfully it wasn't due to performance, as he was one of the top salespeople in the region. They had simply overcrowded the Memphis market and had to let someone go. Since he had the "least amount of responsibility" (aka we don't have children), they chose him. Even though he received a fantastic letter of recommendation from his District Manager and his resume could speak for itself, he was pretty beat up about it. Can't imagine what he was going through. I did everything I could to be supportive and let him know he was loved no matter what (even Googled what to do when your husband gets laid off...you'd be surprised what can find!), I know he was dealing with the natural thoughts of "I'm the man of the house; I should be the provider." If it had been performance-based, he would have at least been expecting it. But losing a job is never easy, especially when you're blindsided.

Through it all, I tried to convince him that this was a tremendous blessing. Of course it didn't seem like it at the time, especially after receiving our lovely credit card bill from the Italy trip (even then, we wouldn't take a single part of it back). But for the past 4+ years, Brent has been pretty miserable when it comes to work. The longer time went on, the more I just knew we'd look back 10 years from now, and he'd still be at the same job, still miserable and nowhere near where he wanted to be career-wise.

Fast forward to last week, and he's got a new j-o-b! Not only is it a position he would have left his previous company for, but it's THE job he's been looking for. It wasn't without stress, arguments and what could have been a huge strain on our marriage - I assure you. But to find something like this and the company be so excited to have your husband come work for them...wow, what a blessing indeed!

Aside from that, the personal stress + professional stress of the past month and a half + not being able to run = mild depression. However, dealing with yet another round of ITBS (in both legs/knees no less) forced me to cross train. It's opened my eyes to the world of biking and swimming. And I LOVE it!! I never knew I would enjoy swimming so much, and get such an intense workout from it at the same time. I'll be a better runner because of it, and will hopefully be able to run longer. Plus, it's something for my Dad and I to do together, which is pretty cool. :)

There's also the infertility factor. Though we've been a little more "careful" I guess you could say over the past couple months, it's been close to three years that we've been trying to conceive. I was planning to start a new fertility treatment in June, which was naturally put on hold until things got settled with Brent. That was a huge factor in putting it off, but to be honest, I started having reservations about it even before that. Looking back on the past 3-5 years, I'm overwhelmed by all the blessings we've been given and truly believe there's a reason for everything. Maybe it just hasn't been our time yet. Maybe I needed to be a good aunt to Bailey (and now Ava!) first. I'm so thankful for my career and the fact that I love what I do. So maybe I needed time to focus on that. And travel. Ooooo, do I love to travel! Rome, Siena, Florence, Venice, Cape Cod, New York, Boston, Houston, Las Vegas, Chicago...and that's just 2012! Granted half of that was for business, but the other was 100% pleasure. The whole kid chapter definitely hasn't closed (we do have Buster, you know!), but I feel so much more at peace with where I'm at -- where we're at. And for that, I'm so very thankful!

On the Rialto Bridge in Venice!

Cape Cod!

A few of my cousins and I at Missy's wedding at the Cape!

Best buds!

My child...who thinks he's human. :)

Ava dancing and me doing who knows what

Melts my heart!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to those who have been so incredibly amazing and supportive through the Wilsons' ups and downs. It's been quite a journey so far, and as we continue {hopefully} opening these new metaphoric doors, it means that much more to have family and true friends to share in it all with you.

Xoxo!

Expanding my {fitness} horizons

Injury...a word avid runners come to know well. Or at least most of them.

A little over a month ago, I injured my left knee during a race. I had just taken two weeks off while the hubby and I were in Italy, and I had maybe squeezed in a week and a half of decent runs before taking home my FIRST first place finish (whoop!) at Zoom Through the Zoo. I felt great after, but then the next morning my knee had swollen to the size of a grapefruit.

A few days later, after trip to the orthopedic doctor, I was diagnosed with fluid buildup and put on anti-inflammatory meds and a light-intensity workout plan. Needless to say, a mild case of depression set in.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am rather passionate about running. One might call it obsessed. But obviously I've had to transform my training for the time being...and I have LOVED every minute of it!!

For the past month or so, I've been alternating swimming 2-3 times a week and biking at least 2 days. The biking has been somewhat satisfying, but the swimming...I never knew I would enjoy it this much!

A HUGE thank you to my dad, who paid for a month's membership for me at the Y, so I could see if I liked it. Not only is it something we can do together, but it's so much better for my joints, and my body just feels different. Who knows. Maybe there's a tri in my future?! For the time being, though, I think I'll stick with individual workouts. :)

New workout view!

Today was the first Road Race Series race of the year. I promised myself to keep it slow, so as not to injure my knee again. I kept a super slow pace (at least for the first 2 miles), finishing with my worst 5K time to date. But I'm not upset in the least. It was super fun, a new course, and my knee is feeling good.

Anyway, I'd have to say that my fitness horizons have definitely expanded. And regardless of how good the knee (hopefully) continues to feel, I'm going to keep up with the cross training.

Marathon training begins in less than a month!!