Shooting Hoops!!

I have some incredible friends and most of these incredible friends have appeared in my life over the past few years. Last night I had the pleasure to go over to two dear friends’ house and have a great dinner. I have to have full disclosure here because these friends were not exactly my friends until three years ago; this was my wife’s friend and I am so grateful for their friendship. The first time I ventured over these friends house I felt a bit uncomfortable without my wife but last night I felt very comfortable. These great people are more like family then friends.

Prior to dinner we were outside playing basketball as they have recently acquired a very nice basketball hoop. These friends have children the identical ages of our children and I swear these two grew so much in the past few weeks I can’t imagine what it is going to be like when I see my children in July. Time does pass so quickly and I have a snapshot in my mind from when my children came to visit me last July but I am sure that snapshot will be blown away when I see them again.

I had a great time shooting hoops but as we sat outside talking I became very cold. My lack of body fat is not conducive when the temperature drops below 60 degrees, yes; I am a light weight when it comes to the cold. We were talking and I was shivering so my dear friend suggested we go inside and I was all for that idea!!! I even needed a few cups of hot chocolate to warm up. The temperature did dip yesterday and I believe there was almost a 40 degree difference between the temperatures on Friday and Saturday. I do like warmer then colder and it is a good thing I do reside in Southern California as opposed to a much colder climate.

Dinner and the conversation were great but I have to admit I miss my children so much when I see their children. It is now less then 3 months before I see them again and I did think I had a small chance of seeing them next week but that evaporated with the events of this week. I will continue to make my daily telephone calls and my daughter does email me every so often. We will be a complete family unit in no time.

Speaking of making telephone calls I displayed bad judgment when I called my wife last night after 8 pm my time which was after 11 pm my wife’s time. She was sound asleep when I called and wasn’t very happy to be woken up. She had a long day yesterday as my daughter performed with her cheerleading troupe at a local Six Flags Amusement Park in New Jersey. Her troupe came in first place and all went well but it was a very tiring day for everyone. My wife is a sound sleeper and wasn’t in the mood to talk. I did call her because there is a part of me that is missing especially around these dear friends.

When I was in prison it was much easier to deal with the day to day activities by myself but out here being in the same place we shared makes it more difficult. It truly is what it is and this too shall pass. Those may sound very cliché but they do ring very true in every aspect. My attitude is positive and I had a wonderful time last night but something inside of me longs for my family. This is all part of those consequences that my actions have caused and I won’t dwell on this but I will not forget. It is easy to forget but through recovery; more truly; in recovery I understand how to live life on life’s terms. Over the years I lived life on Paul’s (me) terms but this didn’t work out so well. Thankfully I continue to receive the tools to deal with life in a positive manner with a positive purpose. This is great and I am eternally grateful for recovery.

The evening was over as one of my dear friend’s was falling asleep at the table while we were talking. I know I am not very interesting so this was not surprising!! My dear friend had a long day and was just tired so the evening came to an end. I drove home thinking of how blessed a person I am to have so many amazing people in my life.

I got up this morning with the intention of running 18 miles. I was torn between running outside and running on the treadmill at the gym. I have done most of my training previously on the treadmill for the five marathons I have run but while I was in prison I did enjoy running outside. I decided on the treadmill at the gym and today was a day dedicated just to running. I stretched out and got on the treadmill for the next 2 ½ hours.

The one issue with running so long on the treadmill is that it stops at the 99 minute mark. In the past I usually time my run to coincide with the treadmill stopping but there is no way I can run 18 miles in 99 minutes and even so my training program called for a much slower tempo then this. The treadmill did stop and somehow didn’t start again but fortunately there weren’t many people at the gym this morning so I just got on an adjacent treadmill and finished the 18 miles.

It was quite funny because I had exactly 6 miles remaining which was my run on Friday where I struggled; even though I had completed 12 miles prior to the additional I felt better today doing the 18 miles (especially the last 6 miles) then I did doing the 6 miles on Friday. Part of it is physical but a bigger part of it is mental. My mind was in a great place this morning and I could have done a full marathon this morning without any problem.

The run was over and my new friend who cleans the bathroom said to me, “finally you have been on that treadmill since I got here over 2 hours ago.” Yes, I did run for over 2 ½ hours but it felt great. I do miss running with headphones and maybe I can find an inexpensive Ipod on EBay because it does seem to make a difference. The gym does have music playing but I am there so often that the music repeats itself from day to day. There are also televisions but I can take so much of Fox News Channel and their so-called “Fair and Balanced” reporting. It would be great to have an Ipod but I guess I would have to download a song which does cost money so I may rethink my position.