Days 21-25

Today I ran with my sister.

Yep.

Okay, okay, I'll get the elephant out of the room, people.

"BROOKE! Where the heck have you been young lady?"

Well, I've been to work. To Disneyland. I've packed a thousand and one boxes and I've baked the most amazing macaroni and cheese with Gruyere, Pecorino Romano, and White Cheddar laced with Cayenne Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes and topped with buttery sourdough breadcrumbs. Oh, an right now I'm preparing the cream cheese frosting from the Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake Mix my friend Lauren bestowed upon me for my day of birth celebration.

But that's probably not the issue you were most curious about. 

Over the past few days, the sky has been plagued with this gray and red swell of smoke while ash scattered through the wind. Today was the first day where I could step outside without feeling my lungs collapse and try to escape my body.

Because I cancelled my gym membership and I failed to utilize our treadmill because without a running partner I am worthless, today was the first day I ran further than one mile.

I'm disappointed too.

Especially since Jake and I are scheduled to run a 5k a week from now and I STILL cannot get beyond the two mile running marker without shaking in a cross-eyed frenzy.

Starting back up though, I'm going to try. 

And furthermore, that's not what today's entry is about.

It's about people who push themselves to the limit for us.

I think we all aspire to be someone who can achieve self elevation by pushing themselves beyond their expectations. But it takes a pretty big hero for someone to give every ounce of energy to protect and serve us.

Watching the fires, as devastating as a they are, has made me more patriotic than I'd like to admit. Having some close family friends who were feet from flames and who lost team members in these past few days has left me both saddened but proud.

We all have our talents, and I continually wonder if I'm chasing down the passions that will have the biggest impact on the world. 

Seriously, I hope I can make that kind of difference one day.

Gotta Run,

Brooke