Another Half Mile?

This morning I went for a run. I’m still commuting back and forth between Seattle (home) and Portland (work), and things around the house are a bit… wonky. Ethan now has two jobs of his own (two Employee of the Month awards and a promotion in the last three months between the two gigs!) And of course Darcie is crazy-busy carting kids around and keeping the household running.

All of this means Piper, the half dingo-half river otter we adopted three years ago is not getting as much time and attention. Specifically, Ethan has always been her daily running/walking companion, and he just hasn’t had as much time for her. She’s been a little restless, so I decided to take her for a run. She manically sprinted her usual few laps around the inside of the house to warm up (I swear she even knows when we spell the word ‘walk’), and we headed out the door, with her tugging hard on the leash.

It was 32 degrees out, clear and dry—unusual weather for a November day in Seattle! We trotted along (she trotted, I plodded) in the crisp autumn air. I haven’t been getting as much exercise lately as I’d like to, with the craziness of the new job at this busy time of year, and I was looking forward to just a quick mile and a half run, enough to get the heart pumping and to get Piper a little exercise.

We ran our typical one and a half mile out and back through the neighborhood, with our noses running but feeling good, Piper always out front, keeping that leash stretched tight. We went up over the hill, past the red mailbox, by the creek, then left to the dead end, then turned around and headed back the way we came. Right turn, the creek again, the red mailbox, over the hill.

As we jogged down toward the house, just over a mile and a half behind us on this chilly morning, Piper turned and quizzically looked me in the eye. I could almost hear Piper asking, in her dingo-otter dialect, “Can you go another half-mile?” I gave her the response, “let’s go!” and she was off, pulling me behind. Down around the corner, up the hill to her St. Bernard friend George’s house, back down and back up; another half mile at least. Thanks for the push, Piper!

This got me thinking about life (what else is there to think about when you are running with your dog in the cold?) More directly, it got me thinking about all the people who have figuratively tugged on the leash, pulling me forward when I wanted to rest. Piper is not really part dingo-part river otter; she’s part Pomeranian-part Boston terrier, with some other stuff likely mixed in. She’s tiny, but that 15 pounds of fur and yaps giving a little tug every now and then just keeps me going.
 

I think of the great example of Darcie, reminding me to keep commitments, pushing me to do better with the Boy Scouts or other youth I work with. Ethan, pushing me on a run a lot harder than Piper ever did (he is tough to keep up with)! Liam, who is a better guitarist than me, even though I’ve been playing for twice as many years as he has lived! Annelise and Corrinne, great examples of daily scripture study and how they just get along so well—these girls can play together for a dozen hours and not have a fight! Am I that patient and engaged with my family?

My parents and my own brothers and sisters (all seven of ‘em), who have shaped me forever, who continue to gently push and pull, whether directly through what they say, or quietly through their example. I have friends, co-workers, employees, and mentors, all giving me little tugs when I need it, pushing me to go another half mile in all areas of life; you’ll read about many more in coming posts. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably given me a nudge when I needed it—decades ago as a childhood friend, or maybe yesterday at work.

We all have people pushing and tugging on us daily; the question is, which direction are they pulling us? Forward, toward a goal or destination? Backwards, toward old habits or traps we’ve been trying to escape? Or maybe even worse, sideways, down a meandering path that distracts us or numbs us or even makes us forget which way is up?

A challenge today—take a look at who you’re surrounding yourself with. Those who have pulled you along and helped you grow—let them know you appreciate them! See if there’s someone who you feel you ought to call or send a nice note of encouragement to; someone you can help along for that next half-mile. If you look around and see there are too many pulling you in directions that are not getting you where you want to go, perhaps quietly pulling back a bit from that ‘friendship’ is in order. Only you know if that’s the case.

I learned as a teen that we become what (and who) we surround ourselves with. Piper reminded me this morning of our need of a little help from our friends—the right friends. Who can you reach out to today, and how can you help them get just another half-mile forward on their journey?