The Calm Before the Storm

I can't help feeling like I'm waiting for things to kick into high gear. Which is funny, because... well, things ARE in high gear. New job, check; wedding planning, check; move planning, double check. Time is slipping through my fingers, and the tighter I try to grab on the faster it goes by.

In some ways I feel a lot like I did before both my triathlons. There's plenty to do - gear to check, details to consider and final preparations to consider. But I'm doing it all distracted by the bigness of what's coming up - diving into the water, walking out of the office for the last time, slamming the car door and pulling away from home.

So it's hard, appreciating the calm. I know that in a few weeks I'll be wishing for the days when preparations meant researching car shipping options online, or deciding which hotel to stay at on our wedding night. In a few weeks, preparations will mean cleaning our empty apartment and gathering up our last memories to pack away with us. It will mean hugging friends goodbye and promising to get together next time we'll be in town. It will mean the last suitcase loaded, the last turn past Iwo Jima, the last backwards look in the rearview mirror as the Washington Monument disappears over the horizon.

I'm stunned, every time, at how fast roots go down in a new place. Honestly, three years ago I could barely spell Iwo Jima. I got lost every time I left the house on my way to the grocery store. Every place I've lived (well, almost every place) it's been the same. And, ironically, that's what gives me the confidence to pick up again and follow my heart on to a new place. A new home.

The storm is brewing. The race is coming. And I can feel myself rising up on my toes, stretching my limbs and letting the anticipation tingle through my fingers. I'm ready. Now it's just the waiting.

PS - Just about a month until the Cherry Blossom. I think I'll be okay. Ask me again after my 8 mile run this weekend.