Buzzful Thoughts: Stop and Smell the Roses (aka dance)

Dallas Rock N Roll 2014 was the second half marathon that I ever completed. One cool thing about each Rock N Roll race is that there are bands/DJs/music along the course every few miles. The race starts near the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and within the first mile or two heads into Deep Ellum. I love running through Deep Ellum. Don’t worry mom – only during the day and with like 1,000 of my best friends. I like looking at all the cool shops/restaurants/bars/clubs when I jog by. Seeing new places that I imagine I will go to some night out when I am feeling 22 again (which rarely ever happens). Bed = 9 sometimes 8 sometimes 7... The first band is typically located near the Deep Ellum Dog Park. I have never been there, but looks super cute! I don’t have a dog and would probably look odd if I brought my cats…

Around mile 8ish (totally guessing here) there is a hill. I remember it as basically the BIGGEST HILL EVER! But for people who live where it is actually hilly, imagine a small incline. We are all trucking it up this hill and halfway up there is a DJ. In front of the DJ is a woman totally getting into it. She has stopped running and she is just dancing, smiling, having the best time. All I can think is –

What about her finish time?!?!

Doesn’t she just want to get this over with?

How can she dance at a time like this???

ARE WE THERE YET?!

I could not imagine why anyone would want to prolong the process of finishing 13.1 miles unless they were injured or dying!

At the same time…I was kind of jealous.

I have never been a “stop and smell the roses” type. Always GO GO GO! If you have ever seen me walk through the main hallway of the school I teach at (BTW - it is L O N G), I basically walk at a race pace. Gotta get there! NOW!

In preschool, I used to ask my teacher what we were doing next, so I would know what was coming. When I was in 6^th grade, I was researching colleges. While eating lunch, I imagine what I will eat for dinner. Anytime there is a baby article on BuzzFeed I look at it and nope…not pregnant. There is nothing wrong with planning ahead. My issue is I struggle to enjoy the moment because I am so focused on the future. I am a planner and sometimes not in a good way.

Not to get morbid or depressing, but sometimes I have to remind myself – the future may not happen. I do this to try to get myself to focus on the now. My only regret about anything in my past is not enjoying all of the amazing moments that have been a part of my life. Most of the time, I don’t even recognize how amazing they are until they are over. It might seem crazy/odd, but it is ok to stop during something fantastic and say – “This is an amazing moment!”.

I feel like that is what that woman was thinking while dancing next to the DJ. She wasn’t thinking about how far away the finish line was. She realized –

How cool is it that there is a DJ playing in the middle of Dallas (during the day)?!

There are tons of spectators cheering us on.

I will finish those last few miles in a bit.

This is an amazing moment and I’m going to dance!

Life is short. As adults, I think we all know that by now. Enjoy the present. And in the words of Lee Ann Womack “I hope you dance”.