Gate River Run

Troy and I ran the Gate River Run a couple of weeks ago with a few of our friends. Thanks to the Peacock Express we arrived much too early, while it was still dark (and cold). I had an interesting port-a-potty adventure that morning. I'm not that experienced at porta-pottying it and true story - on this morning I went pee while the lid was down. Now, one would think something wasn't right when they didn't hear any pee hitting the bottom of the "hole", but as I said, I haven't had many porta-john experiences. I just thought there was enough whatever already in the hole and that's why I didn't hear my pee. It wasn't until I asked my good friend Emily (who was using the "stall" beside me) "where do you put the toilet paper?" that I realized I had gone to the bathroom with the lid down. SERIOUSLY, what porta-potty has a lid?!!! These must have been top of the line porta Johns. No worries, my friends...my legs, feet and shorts were completely dry. I'm still not sure where my pee went.

Anyway, after an hour or three of walking around and not enjoying the closed expo it was time for the run to start. There were about 12000 runners this year and it felt like you were in the middle of the pact no matter what pace you ran. It was a crowded, brutal run. My endurance wasn't tested, but man, the pavement just reached up and smacked every joint and muscle in my feet and legs. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours. My official time was 2:02 so I wasn't hanging my head low.

My favorite part about the run was going through the neighborhoods on Hendricks and River Road. Families were out cheering us on; kids were handing out water and fruit slices. It was white-picket fence America and it made me smile to think it does exist.

Something really caught my eye in one particular neighborhood. A woman was holding a sign that read "Chase what matters." Wow - I thought about those words for quite some time after I passed her, and they still rattle me when I think about what they mean. As I thought about her sign I couldn't help but think about the hustle and bustle each day brings...most weekdays seem almost robotic in our household - wake up, get ready, get Emma ready, rush to get out the door, sit in traffic, drop Emma off, get to work, work, pick up Emma, sit in traffic, prepare dinner, eat dinner, bathe Emma, put Emma to bed, get myself ready to do it all over again the next day. I have been asking myself what I'm really chasing. Is it sense of family? Is it self-fulfillment? Is it corporate approval and success? Then like a ton of bricks it hit me that we don't exist to satisfy any of those things. We're supposed to be building the kingdom. Chasing His glory. I have been challenging myself to chase what matters daily. I hope you do the same.

Neighborhood Advisory

We're now at 3 total homes broken in to here in the hood. Here's a few friendly tips we learned at our neighborhood watch meeting if you're interested in knowing how to make your home more secure:

- apparently new construction is so thrifty the screws that hold in the kick plate on most dead bolts are only 1/4 inch thick; they don't even go into the 2x4 in the door frame; you can buy a more secure kick plate with longer screws at the hardware store for $5

- the hinge screws on most front doors aren't long enough either. you can buy longer ones (3 inches are supposed to be sufficient) at the hardware store for a buck or two.

- sliding glass doors are able to be "picked up" off their track and pulled right off. this is the preferred home invasion method in oakleaf these days said property management rent-a-cop. you can buy a pin screw something or another at the hardware store for $3

- if you have a home owners association you should get budget reports monthly. ours is nearly broke and can't afford to repair the front gate. we're not sure what our monthly payment goes to since our grass is dead, we haven't had mulch in over a year and the speed bumps i fought so hard to shoot down but were still approved haven't been put in yet.

life in the hood

so my friend Allison is blogging about the number of new eggs she finds in her front yard each day when she comes home. i have a tally game of my own here at the fabulous cottages at argyle:

2 houses broken into; 5 cars broken into
$158 per month paid to HOA who won't fix the gate
one hour will spent at a neighborhood meeting this sunday to "learn how to make my neighborhood safer"

the way I add it up - countless hours thinking about this stupid place, one house i can't sell, one mortgage that isn't worth the payment, and one credit score i'm considering ruining just to get out of the hood

"I love Mommy"

Emma's become quite the chatter box these days and will almost always say what you tell her - Emma say thank you..."tant you"; Emma say that's not nice..."not nice"; Emma say help please..."elb peace"; Emma say excuse me... "use me"; Emma say bye-bye..."bye-bye"; the list goes on. The one thing she has yet to try is "I love you." Tonight I got my moment :)
After church Auntie Laura was telling Emma bye and said "I love you Emma." My baby girl just blurted out in her sweet voice "I love Mommy." There aren't words to describe how a mother feels when she hears her child say they love them for the very first time. I hope the feeling is exactly the same when she's 3, 5, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 25, 30, 40 and so on.

Crime

My mind has spent a lot of time thinking about crime in the past several months. If you live in Jacksonville you know it's unfortunately not unfamiliar to hear about shootings & murders, burglaries, robberies, etc. nearly everyday when you read or watch the news. Still, it's easy to become desensitized unless and until you or someone you know becomes a victim of crime.

My parents' house was broken into before Christmas. The burglars (2 suspected) beat right through the front door. The same thing happened to a guy a work and last year one of the units in our neighborhood was also broken into (via the window). Sunday morning when Troy came home from work he noticed a vehicle had been broken into near the entrance of our neighborhood. The burglars cut through the convertible top and took what they wanted and left the rest of the belongings strung about in the driveway and yard.

I've never understood what compels one to take something that isn't theirs much less how someone can harm another human being. I've heard comments recently that the bad economy is leading people to commit crime, and even in Troy's formal training they teach that people commit crime when their basic needs aren't being met. I'm all for academic and social understandings, but really, the only logical thing it boils down to for me is that people who commit these types of crime have no regard for others. They don't think the same way people who don't commit crimes do. I know that sounds obvious enough as you read the two statements, but for those who have never and could never fathom doing such things, the lack of understanding of how these people can steal, rob and harm others is just so darn frustrating.

It makes me sad that my kids will grow up in a place like this. I've said aloud to a few people recently that I'd like to move to place where there is less crime, and it's puzzled me that the response is always the same - "It's everywhere, not just here." That response bothers me more than the people who say it know. Not because I don't half believe they are right, but more because it's sad to m that we're all settling for a crime-ridden quality (or lack of) of life.

So, in all my conversions with myself in my head about the above, I decided to do a little research. In 2008 Florida was ranked the 9th most dangerous state with regards to crime overall, and 5th for assault and burglary. Where are the safest places to live? Well, my fellow Floridians, it seems we'll have to decide whether the forecast or crime is more important in our formula for quality of life as the states with less crime are also the most cold places to live! I guess criminals don't like to carry their loot in the snow (they're also states with less population). See the list below:

10 most dangerous states: Nevada, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Maryland, Alaska, Florida, Michigan.

10 safest states: New Hampshire, Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Iowa, Idaho, Wisconsin.