The Path

I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted anything.  I guess a new year, a new try at keeping a blog.

The last couple of months have been full of things I definitely did not anticipate.  My beloved grandfather past away.  The guy I love and I broke up and he ran off to SE Asia to try and find himself, and while we are broken up it still feels like nothing is settled, that we're still connected.  After three months my heart is still in love with him.  I hit a bear.  Driving on I-70 going 65mph, off to have a great day of hiking.  While both myself and the other person in the car walked away with nothing more than some bumps and bruises, I seem to still have lost the friendship.  Juno officially has a new home.

That said, the whole summer was not a bust.  I'm training for my first half marathon in September and honestly I couldn't be more proud of myself and excited.  Me, excited about running 13.1 miles?  I know, I'm shocked as well.  I got to have a lot of fun with friends, see Brad Paisley in concert and my first rodeo, relax, and nanny for an amazing family.  There truly were amazing, happy, and hopeful times mingled in with the difficult.

This summer has been a journey for me.  A journey of self.  A journey of taking the steps I need to for myself and not worrying about what others think or want.  Giving up Juno was beyond difficult.  That sweet puppy and I have been through more together than some friends.  However, that difficult, and painful, step was the first one made on the journey to find my path.  It's been freeing to finally be "selfish" for me.  To think about what I really want and then go for it.  To let myself feel whatever it is I feel.  No apologizes.  No rushing.  Just feeling.

There have been several quotes this summer that have started to point and inspire me down the road of my life, where I find myself now.  For now I'll share just one:

"Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

It's both inspiring and scary, but I know this is where my life is headed.  I can take one of the roads forged before me or I can make my own, making sure that my life leaves its mark on the world.  While I'm not yet exactly sure what form my mark will leave, I know I'm meant to leave one.  Bushwhacking isn't always my strongest skill, but I guess that's the beauty of life:  we get to learn as we go along.