Mother Nature's Prank

This morning I was preparing to go to the Dunbar track for a workout at approximately 4:55.  As I put on my contact lens, got dressed warmly, and raced out the door to try to avoid being late, I noticed that it seemed to be sleeting.  As I quickly sat in the driver's seat of my car, I noticed that I had somehow missed a call from one of the two people with whom I was supposed to run.  As I quickly called my training partner back (I don't usually call people at 5 AM), the sleet continued.  We decided that since we did not know how long it would continue, we would call off our workout. 

As I checked on how much more to expect, I noticed that the local online weather indicated "light ice pellets".  That term surprised me, so I posted about it on Facebook.  Much to my surprise, the post ended up with more than a dozen comments about the difference between sleet and ice pelled.  My one friend who is a trained meteorologist commented that the term ice pellet was more accepted internationally.  So I joked that just like The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (see the symbol to the right), I could call the weather The Precipitation Formerly Known as Sleet.  Clever, perhaps.  But some friends claims their local weather coverage said there was still a difference.  

More importantly, as I returned to the warm interior of my house, it gave me a chance to rethink my priorities for the morning.  Yes, I would have loved to do a track workout.  We had planned 800 meter intervals and I would likely have done six or more at a very quick pace.  But instead, I began by making semolina flour pizza dough.  It ended up making a decent dinner, but my eight year old is rarely sufficiently patient to get the best pizza out of a dough.

Then, I took my dog for a relatively long walk.  She was incredibly happy.  That made me happy as well.

Next, I did run.  Just 3.1 miles at an easy pace.  But that was what I needed.  No pressure.  No hype.  Just a relaxing opportunity to use my legs and get the heart going a little.

Then, I went to the grocery store.  And eventually, I did make it to work on time and had a good day at work.

So, my friends and I decided not to take a risk and instead of getting a great workout and feeling incredibly pressured otherwise, I got a good workout and had an opportunity to take care of some other quite important things.

That is a good lesson to learn--sometimes a change in plans creates new opportunities.  Each change should be taken not as inherently a setback but as an opportunity to take another path that may turn out to be even better.  

40 Days to Better: Day 24

Today was not a day for running.  Did I plan for it to start that way?  Not really.  I had only thought about running 4, 5, or 6 miles but in the end there were too many other things to do.  And along the way through today, I had the opportunity to make an impression on people.  Is that necessarily a good thing?  Maybe--as long as I get people's attention for the right reason and when I need to.

I started the day preparing two loaves of pumpkin bread using an online recipe.  The recipe was one that I had made several times last fall but had not made since then.  The kids enjoyed the recipe and I took one loaf to work.  A colleague told me it was the talk of the staff this morning.  Perhaps it was just to flatter someone with a high level administrative position.  But she did ask for the recipe, too.  That was a nice way to make an impression on colleagues.

Second, the pizza dough that I made this morning.  It was half whole wheat.  It has a chance to rise for more than an hour before I went to work and rather than refrigerating it, I left it out all day.  So, thanks to some help from my seventeen year old, we had a pizza with sour dough like crust that was a bit more flavorful than normal topped with a combination of ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella.  It was really yummy.  And even Sherry said that it was exceptionally good--especially the cheese.  I make pizza all the time, but it was nice to get a compliment about the quality of the white pizza.

Finally, after an issue at work today, I sent an email to a colleague using a subject line that was stronger than I usually use.  This was one way to get the attention of a colleague whose attention I needed in a relatively immediate way.  She even commented that my choice of subject lines was certainly enough to get someone's attention.  I commented back that after six months at my new job, I had learned how to communicate with people in a way to get their attention when needed.  The subject was one for which I wish I did not have to draw my colleague's attention.  But I knew how to get it effectively.

So, in one day I had three specific mentions of getting people's attention.  Two were very positive and just by good fortune.  One was negative but necessary and effective.  Using the skill of getting people's attention is valuable.  It is important in the workplace.  It is important with students.  It is important in family life.  It is important when I teach Sunday school.  So many situations.  So many needs for people's attention.  So many ways to get people's attention.  And a skill that I can usefully continue to improve.