Here’s to life, more life!

My turn to blog this month happened to land on my birthday. Today, I am 25 years old–old enough to rent a car–and am up for celebrating!

I’ve seen people reach this age and commence to freak out because of all they were supposed to have done by 25–get married, have kids, land the dream job and dream house, and so on–but that’s not how I want to spend this day or this year. Sure, there’s a whole slew of milestones on a life list I would have liked to reach by now (oh, salary and benefits, one day we will meet) and aspects of my life I want to change, but I want to spend more time celebrating what I do have in my life, not lamenting what isn’t.

This morning, I kicked off the day with a bowl of cereal and a challenge: to jog the full loop at Iroquois Park non-stop, twice. Last year on this day, I huffed and puffed those hills and completed the full route jogging non-stop for the first time, so I thought I’d up the ante a little this year. My knees didn’t like it, and I was sweating glistening like crazy, but I pushed through, and 6.4 miles later, made it to the end. While my pace was nothing to write home about, I was excited just to finish and not pass out at the end.

Whatever your age, keep on challenging yourself and celebrating yourself.

Running past the woods today, I was thinking about people I’ve known in my life who never reached 25 and how incredibly lucky I am to be healthy enough to still be here, running. Today, I celebrate my health and my community–friends, family, neighbors, social justice allies, and YMCA pals. You should go celebrate something today! I plan on celebrating by crossing the bridge and having the best ice cream in all of Kentuckiana at Mom & Pop’s Cone Corner in New Albany later today. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Free outdoor event season begins!

Longer daylight hours, warm temperatures, parks bursting with vibrant colors: spring is definitely my season. There are few joys in life sweeter or more simple than taking a walk in the park with a friend on a sunny day, and with spring you get lots of opportunities for those walks. On top of spring being the season where we all come out of hibernation–farewell bulky winter clothes, hello shorts and sandals!–this is also when the city pops with a great variety of free events. Below are just a handful of events happening over the next few months in our grand city that I’m looking forward to. Feel free to share more in the comments!

Iroquois Amphitheater movie nights — While the summer movie series at Iroquois Amphitheater doesn’t kick off until June, I’m already stoked just looking at the schedule. I’ve been meaning to see The Help, now I’ll wait and enjoy it for free at my favorite park.

University of Louisville men’s baseball — I’ll admit I’m not a huge baseball fan (or sports fan, period), but when the games are free and the hot dogs tasty, I can get roused up and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” with the best of them. Grab the kids or some pals and check out a free U of L baseball game.

WFPK Waterfront Wednesday — This concert series goes from April through September and is always the last Wednesday of the month. This is a great way to enjoy a view of the Ohio River and listen to some great music.

Volunteering — You can volunteer at plenty of places year-round, but if I can soak up some rays and fresh air AND do something good at the same time, I’d rather do that. Olmsted Parks Conservancy is a great organization to volunteer for if you’re a big fan of our parks system. It’s also a neat way to learn more the different vegetation in the park. And coming up the week of April 15th is Mayor Fischer’s Week of Service. Volunteer opportunities abound all over the community for this special week.

Shakespeare in the Park — This another one that’s a couple months off, but I’m already looking forward to seeing The Bard’s Much Ado About Nothing at Central Park.

Kentucky Derby Festival — Once March Madness ends, the city barely has a moment to recuperate before the Kentucky Derby Festival starts. From chow wagons to concerts to parades, and, of course fireworks, there will be plenty to do before the big day in May.

What are you and your family looking forward to this spring?