Perspective

It rained today. And that's legitimately news.

In most climates, rain is decisively ordinary occurrence, but this year, in Texas, any rain is worthy of note, which I guess makes a storm front page news. When I lived in the midwest, rain was something that cancelled baseball games and not much else, but seeing it from inside a drought, it's suddenly the key to keeping my lawn green and the rivers high.

Perspective makes all the difference in the world. I remember hail being a curiosity and the concept of "golfball-sized" chunks being something I wanted to see for myself. Today, at the first sound of "thud" instead of "splat," I got a little picture in my head of shingles ripped away from my roof and tiny holes drilled into my attic. Yes, today I found out what a storm feels like to a homeowner, and it is not as pleasant as it used to be.

Of course, nothing really bad happened. The hail lasted only a few minutes, and the rain cleared up long enough for me to get out and put in my miles. But during those miles, I thought about how differently I look at things now when compared to just a few years ago.

For example, now that I have a couple dogs of my own, I find myself drawn to the plight of other dog owners. When I saw a "Lost Chihuahua" sign half a mile south of our place and a "Found Chihuahua" sign a mile north, I called the first and told them about the second. Don't know if it'll turn out, but it was too much of a coincidence to leave it alone. Before I had dogs of my own, I probably would not have noticed the signs at all. Or at least wouldn't have focused closely enough to make the connection.

I think about all sorts of things that I tried never to worry about as a kid. Taxes mostly. But other things, too. And I've realized that, while it seems like my life has a lot more worry, it's only because I have more to care about in my life.

I've felt a definite shift this past month that I can't really explain. Maybe it's the running. Maybe it's the water. Maybe I'm just growing up. Whatever it is, I'm really beginning to feel like an adult in a way that, for once, doesn't scare the living daylights out of me. I'm not changing my life, but I am refining it, one little adjustment at a time.

Next up, waking up on time.

Tuesday's Run:
7.93 Miles