A different kind of race...

Twelve years ago today, I was in the hospital, getting ready to give birth to my first child.

I was induced due to blood pressure issues. I was terrified. But I did it.

For weeks after his birth, Russ and I would spend hours hanging over the bassinet, watching Kyle sleep. We were so damned proud of what we had done. "Look at his ear!" I'd say. "I know," Russ would respond, "but look at those toes!"

You would have thought we were the first people in the universe to make a baby.

I think Kyle Bryant Miller is the most exquisite, smartest, most awesome boy in the world. He just is.

We are still so damned proud of that child. We're not fawning over his ears or his toes anymore, but when he does the right thing, when he brings home good grades, when he asks a thoughtful question, when he gives me a hug for no reason, my heart soars.

---

There's a difference between "can't" and "don't want to."

I hear a lot of people say that they "can't" run or they "can't" commit to a vegetarian diet.

Unless you have no legs or unless your doctor has told you specifically to eat all the meat you can, you're just wrong.

You don't want to run. You don't want to give up meat.

And that's perfectly fine. But admit it to yourself. It's not that you can't; it's that you're unwilling to make these changes to enhance your life.

Admit it.