EOY "Stats"

God IS good; sometimes we see it and the rest of the time we live by faith.

The following are times over the last year when I saw God's goodness:

Total Miles Ran in 2007: 431 (343 of those after 7/1). Grand total of miles run (since beginning in 2004): 1663.5

Total Number of Races: 4
Fastest 5K 27:44 (8:56 pace) - first place in group
Fastest & First 10 Miler: 1:47:33 (10:46 pace) - 2d place in group

January 2007 - job interview in Albuquerque, NM. What a beautiful city and an awesome time in the mountains. I really hoped I'd get to live there, but God said, "No."

April 2007 - B.S. in paralegal studies summa cum laude
- Began full-time job (first time in about 10 years)
- Moved into apartment (with a lot of help from my friends) & "self-sufficient" again. Blessed by being near my oldest daughter, her family & the grandkids

September 2007 - received another son-in-law (Welcome, Chad!).
- raced in Crosswinds 5K, and quick visit with old friends in Canandaigua NY

November 2007 - celebration of Dad's 80th birthday in Iowa with birth family

December 26, 2007 - Christmas with both my girls and their families at the same time!

December 28, 2007 - accepted paralegal position (what I studied for) in Harrisonburg, where I'll be even closer to my daughter & grandkids, closer to the crew I've run with, more available for jail ministry, AND closer to the mountains!!!

December 28, 2007 - January 1, 2008 - My youngest daughter called about a week ago. Between sobs, she asked what was going on. Having felt a tremendous urgency to pray, she said she had been intensely interceding in my behalf. She said, at the time, that she had broken through and knew that victory had been won; but she wondered, "Victory over what?" I have since received a clarity of vision and purpose such as I have not enjoyed for years. It's almost as if there's a Power Point presentation in my head, showing how the pieces of a multitude of things in which I've been involved in might now come together. The pieces are starting to fit. It seems that my years in the "dark night of the soul," are about to end. A friend said to me last week that God's been telling him, "Wait...be patient." I've been trying to "wait...be patient" for years; perhaps now the waiting time is nearly over and it will soon be time to "get to work."

A Pile of People

Though this photo of Chad, Sam, Maggie, Liza and Ebony in the "papa chair" was taken at AM and Steven's Virginia home, this is the kind of thing that happens often when my Iowa family gathers. One of the guys finds a comfortable chair. His wife piles on his lap. Kids think they look comfortable and pile on top of the heap. And, just like home, a dog will find its way into the mix as well.

Today's "Run"

I put run in quotes because I walked as much as I ran, averaging about 14 minute miles for 7.2 miles, on a very hilly route. With no races scheduled in the near future, I have tried to make December and January recovery months -- lowering mileage a bit, and running just for fun on Saturdays. I tried a new route today, heading out on Churchville Avenue, then down Shutterlee Mill Road and then, by mistake, on the Wilson Parkway (oops! really bad idea!). Runing on the Parkway didn't seem bad because of the wide shoulder; getting off or crossing it, however, was extremely tricky as it's a limited access highway four lanes wide. I loved this house on Shutterlee Mill Road, across from Thomas W. Dixon school.

My Crew

Granddaughter Eliza Grace (6), Steven and Anna Maria, Magdalena Hope (4) and, behind Maggie, Sam (Ana Kristina) and Chad. This was Sam and Chad's first Christmas as a married couple. I kept all three of these photos because of the expressions on the little girls' faces.

Walk and Talk

Both my girls, their families and were together the day after Christmas. That's my oldest daughter, Anna Maria, on the left and her baby sister (nearly 5 years younger), Ana Kristina "Sam", on the right. I snatched this photo on a "walk and talk" (Maggie, Chad and Sam, AM and me) down AM's lane and across the North Fork of the Shenandoah, which was about a half inch over the bridge we crossed.

Ebony, a 6 - 10 pound primarily Pomeranian mix threw a fit and herded these cows away from the post holiday dinner strollers. I have never heard Ebony bark and growl like she did at these cows!

Scenes from Christmas

I stayed over at Anna Maria and Steven's on Christmas Eve. Maggie let me have her bed and she slept -- for a while anyway -- on a mattress on the floor. Then a while before morning, Liza woke up coughing and she, too, crawled in. The blue quilt, and a similar one not in the photo, were gifts from my sister-in-law -- hand made quilts with hours and hours of sewing, and each one with a block from something my mom often wore. A gift for the present, and a gift reminding of the past as well.
Eliza, 6, let me pick her up and have a hug. She's too big and too old for this now, but once in a great while, she likes to regress a bit and be held. This time she let me stand and hold and rock her for several minutes; she just needed some attention.
Maggie usually IS climbing on something. She's 4, but the smallest in her class and at the very bottom of the growth chart. I think she likes climbing and being the same size as everyone else once in a while.
Steven has spent several Saturday mornings watching the girls while Anna Maria learned the art of making stained glass. Unbeknownst to him until Christmas, he was the recipient of her first masterpiece. And the joy on his face was amazing; he obviously thoroughly loved this gift which, he said, he plans to take to his office at EMU.
(photos by Steven David Johnson)

Christmas with friends...

My neighbor and co-worker lives across the hall in a two-bedroom with her son. She has a living room, but no dining space. I have a dining/quasi living room. She made a feast of prime rib, and enough food to feed a squadron. I opened up my gate leg table; she arranged the center piece and I helped set the table. When her son and girlfriend came over, she opened her main door and I opened mine; and we all just sort of pretended we lived together in one big flat--milling about and wandering from place to the other! It was great -- appetizers and goodies on her coffee table; the feast spread out on a card table and shelf on mine. And we all ate together around my table. I took this photo before everyone arrived, but when the kids and the girlfriend arrived, I got so caught up in the conversation I forgot to take a photo of the people. I made cheesecake for dessert and ended up sending it home with everyone; no one had room for it but it is the boys' favorite, so they'll have some later.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

As part of the kids' Christmas gift, I went down on Christmas eve and helped them get ready for oodles of company coming in the day after Christmas. I got too tired to go home, so I just stayed over. When we discussed this idea, Maggie said, "But I bet you don't have any clothes."
I laughed and said, "Y'know Grammie; I never leave home without extra clothes...."
The little girls shared their room. Maggie gave up her bed and slept on a mattress on the floor -- for about half the night! Then she crawled in with me. Then Liza woke up with a cough, so I got her a cough drop and she crawled in.
I went to sleep looking out the window at the cow pasture and STARS!!! I never get to see the stars in Staunton, too much light pollution. And it was so quiet -- no yelling in the street, loud pipes (on cars) or roaring music.


A bit more than seven years later and they love each other more than ever. When I said something about this, Anna Maria said, "We'd better!" And it's true. When people really put something into a marriage, as they both do, it does pay off.
Eliza, with the contents of her stocking -- craft projects, chap stick and SARDINES (the girls love them)! Maggie, below, got the same thing. Both girls also got some real neat art supplies from their parents.
Me? the kids gave me a cast iron pot and lid, for home kitchen and camping; and a pot holder, kitchen towels (I had none) and rags (sounds strange, but I needed them!) for the kitchen. I've been looking for a cast iron pot for years, but they were always just out of my price range. AM said she found mine at an antique store, and reasonably priced. Photos of Chad and Sam's wedding, and a photo collage were my fun gifts.

Maggie....

While looking through some photos and past articles, I found some photos of the girls from 2004. In the above photo, Maggie has actually abandoned her precious sippy cup for a ball she found.

Eliza in Shades -- Past & Present

Above photo: Photo of Eliza Grace that I took in May of 2004.
Below: Photos taken by her dad this fall.

Tribute to My Virtual Running Partner

That's is Steve, my virtual running partner, hanging off a rock on the Swift Run Gap trail here in Virginia last May. I can't remember when we started "running together," and, in reality, we've actually only run together three times: once at a Crosswinds (NY) race three years ago, in which I beat him, though I didn't even know him yet; once on a winter day when we ran in the gym at Crosswinds church after helping set up about 700 chairs for a worship service to be held later in the day; and once at the Crosswinds 5K last September, in which he beat me. A little over a year ago when we learned that we both ran, we compared notes and realized we had both started running about the same time (less than five years ago).
In a phone call this week, Steve said he had just reached the 400 mile mark, as did I! I was so proud of him. And it was amazing to me that we hit that 400th just a couple days apart. He said he plans to run the Charlottesville Half Marathon with me in April. Now his training will be much more difficult than mine, as he will be dealing with the snow and cold of a Geneva NY winter (one of the Finger Lakes). He'll most likely cross-train on skis.
His training is also very different. Until we met, he didn't time his runs or pay that much attention to distance. Me on the other hand . . . until I met Steve, I tracked the time and distance of every run. He probably also enjoyed his runs more since he doesn't obssess over them. When I told Steve last fall that I'd be ecstatic if I met a certain goal, he said, "Static is okay."
And he's right. Even maintenance running demonstrates discipline. Besides a runner can only progress so far, and static is sure better than digressing (which is easy to do as one ages).
During our virtual partnership, though, as we've shared personal goals, disappointments and progress, our training methods have become a tad bit more similar. Steve knows he made 400 miles this year, so he is tracking the length of his runs. He also has timed some of them. I'd like to think that seeing those statistics, seeing proof that he's making progress, has encouraged him and brought even more joy to his runs. I, on the other hand, have stopped timing every run, am obssessing a bit less, and run more often just for the fun of it.
The numbers also show something else. Our rate of progress has been very similar. Our mileage is nearly the same. He's a little faster; he's also nearly 10 years younger and (since he's 10 inches taller) has a longer stride. So neither Steve's method nor mine is completely wrong or right. It's the day-to-day discipline, not our approach to the sport, that has made us both stronger.
And accountability, the one tactic we both share, has been a good thing for both of us, as it is for most runners. Having a running partner (even though a virtual one) has provided encouragement. Our effort, we know, matters to someone else. Someone else cares whether we fail or win. Steve congratulated me with enthusiasm when I won my gold medal and ran the Staunton 10 Miler. I hooped and hollered when he ran his first 7-miler, and when he hit his 400th mile. Accountability also provides motivation. Neither one of us wants to have to say to the other, "I just slacked off today..." (though we both have done that on a couple occasions, but we always get right back at it, not wanting to tempt the other to slack off, too).
And come the end of January we'll both be pushing a little bit harder. That's when we'll start training for that Half Marathon--a shared goal. He'll need much more drive and self discipline though to keep him running in the snow and cold of a NY winter. Hopefully the promise of a spring break in the south will provide extra motivation and keep him running strong and steady. "Slog on, Bro...see you at the Half. I am so proud of you!"

Traces of Place -- A Johnson Collaboration

Daughter Anna Maria and her husband have been working hard on an upcoming art show (March) at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY, in which both will display their talents. I've uploaded many of Steven's works on this blog, but have few of Anna Maria's to display. Above Anna Maria is showing a page from one of the books she has made. She's been leading workshops wherein participants make books demonstrating the moments that have shaped their life's pathways; in so doing she is combining her love of counseling and art, and the particpants see how the pieces of their life have fit together.
On the wall is one of her most recent weavings. Besides book and paper making, Anna Maria spins yarn, and then weaves tapestries and wall hangings, or she knits or crochets (her hat is one of her projects).

(Photos by Steven David Johnson)

Another Steven David Johnson Masterpiece

To see more of Steven's photographs, check out homepage.mac.com/steverinojohnson/iblog.

This photo was taken December 5, on the day of the area's first snow.

Ice Storm--View from Church This Morning

The ground was bare and clear, but trees shown with a light layer of ice.

This view would have been gorgeous (looking toward the west) had it not been for the power lines cutting the scene in half.

These photos got an "Awesome!" from my photography professor son-in-law. Now that's high praise! He said he actually puts power lines in his photos on purpose, it adds interest and lines (I think that's what he said...). Anyway...made me feel better about the bottom photo.

Strange bird

Liza, Maggie and I saw these birds at Gypsy Hill Park Sunday, but we don't know what they are. They screech in a loud, terrible sounding screech--a bit like a goose's honk in pitch, but in a tone more similar to a screech. "They're scary," Maggie said. And they did seem a bit ominous, between their very strange markings and call. Anyway...what makes them distinct is that there is a rust-colored ring around their eyes and on their wings. Click on the photos to blow them up, so you can see them better, and I hope someone can tell us what they are, as I couldn't find them in my Field Guide to the Birds.

Designer Backpacks

I have always enjoyed my granddaughters, but now that they're old enough to do projects, they're even MORE fun. This weekend we made backpacks...I showed them photos of dufflebags, bags and backpacks in catalogs, and then asked them what kind of bags they'd like to make. I dumped out a heap of scrap material from my "to-do-something-with-someday" collection, buttons, trim, etc. And then we set to work....I asked them what shape and what they had in mind. Maggie (4) wanted a square (see above) and Eliza (6) wanted a rectangle with one strap going across (below). I drew lines, as they guided, onto a painter's dropcloth (after measuring their backs to get the right size), and cut as instructed. And then we went to work...they picked the stitches to sew on the applique. After I sewed the pieces together, constantly asking for further instruction and decisions, the girls took markers and drew more designs ... Maggie's (above) has a row of butterflies just below the flap. Eliza has a whole nature scene on hers...you can at least see the grass and butterflies if you enlarge the photo below.

Staunton's First Snow

We had flurries a few weeks back, but today it snowed off and on all day. I awakened this morning to the above view, taken from my kitchen window.
I then ran outside...and snapped the photo (above).
The view at about 12:15 p.m., as I left for my run. There was about two inches in places on some sidewalks, and in those spots it was a bit slippery -- enough so that I often ran on the street instead of the sidewalk. Constitution Drive through Gypsy Hill was mostly wet, not slippery. And it wasn't cold obviously, as the snow didn't really stick...the prediction for today was 35 degrees, and I'd guess that's about what it was.