This Utah trip in many regards was the typical vacation that we used to take before we had kids and it was a relief to know that our kids are able to handle the anticipation and challenges of long road trips.
We flew into Salt Lake City and rented a car to zip through the points of interests for us and sometimes it meant changing the plans on a fly or even not knowing which Hotel we'll sleep in at night. It took the kids a little getting used to that we have to pack our bags each morning and that we won't come back to the same hotel but they took it in stride.
As much as we regret passing on the 'stubbornness genes' to our kids in their entirety from both parents, the 'travel genes' pretty much makes up for that inconvenience.
After that we descended into the the Valley of Gods (it indeed was a breathtaking valley worth Gods residence) and continued our drive towards the Monument Valley through some of the most famous landscapes of the wild west.
The Descend into the Valley of Gods
reminds me of 'Here I am - Byan Adam'
Monument valley is still managed by the Native Americans and while they have frequent tours of the excursion, personal vehicles are also allowed to visit a large part of the Valley. They also have a hotel with in the park and had we known that in advance we would have planned our stay a little differently. This was the first time that we got to try some Native American delicacies and both DH and I, being foodies were thrilled with the opportunity.
Our tour guide played Native American double Flute
Navaho Nation Bridge in Glen Canyon
Our abode in Bryce Canyon
Yes, its snowed...
Panoramic view of the hoodoos
It was an excellent trip and the best part is that kids cannot stop talking about it. All these sites that we covered in our short trip warrants a week stay at each place but I know my traveling list is very long and I am thankful that I got a taste of the views and I know it would be hard to be satiated with views and hikes like that of Utah even after a dozen trips. It is so good to share similar interests with your kids and I am glad that I don't have to wait for kids to grow up before we can take rugged vacation together. A hike in the Grand Canyon with kids is on my bucket list and now I am hopeful that we'll make it.
I feel so blessed each time I see my daughters. I feel honored that God chose me to nurture these individuals in early stages of their life and I already know these two are going to be two very remarkable personalities. And so when my girls look up to me and shower their adorations on me, I cannot but gush at my fortune. My girls pretending to go for a run, or pretend to do yoga in the living room, or just pretend to fast with me, it is just too sweet and too special a treat.
And although I enjoy it much I don't want them to have any false givings about my capabilities. I tell them when I need help and I sometimes share with them my fears. My older one is a realist and so she needs to see how irrelevant perfection is at times. Long story short, I was telling my girls about how I need a lot of practice for my upcoming recitals because I am not doing a good job. My daughters of course came back with a, 'No, Mamma you are the best' and 'You dance so well'. So I told them, that I need a lot of practice and then I can do justice to all that my teacher is entrusting me with.
My realist girl quickly asked me, 'so you think your heart is not in it?'
I had to maneuver carefully and I explained, I have lots on my plate and there are many others things in my life that need to be done, and they are my priority and so even though my heart is into dancing I can't devote as much time to it as I want. But that doesn't mean that I'll give up, I'll keep trying and eventually I'll get there but for now I'll just enjoy dancing even if its not perfect.
I saw a light bulb flicker in my girl's eyes, and she said, 'I think you are right Mamma, we should keep trying and no matter what you think I like how you dance'. This was a big concept for my 6 year old to grasp, she wants to be perfect at everything she does, even if its the first time she does it.
And now that we are on the topic of my upcoming dance recital, I need to mention that I am recruited for three sequence. Usually I don't sign up for anything more than one but this time, I just didn't say no. Not yet.
One of the dance is a pure technique dance that I have learned throughout the year, the other one is a special story telling dance that Pt. Birju Maharaj ji specially composed for our dance school and also one of the very first ones that I started to learn seven years ago but never finished. So I am gonna finish it this time.
The third and the opening number is the one that I am honored to be performing. It is a fusion number of India's national song 'Vande Matram' and Guru Rabindranath Tagore's poem 'Where the mind is without Fear'. This year is the 150th birth anniversary of Indian Nobel Laureate and our school will pay respect through this performance. Now you know, why I am so nervous about not doing justice to the whole sequence. This was also my first time experiencing my teachers' choreography process and I feel very close to her just to be able to watch her go through iterations and create the perfect magic.
Now that I have worked my way back up to be able to run 5Ks (though not at a desired speed), I think I can talk about my last year's race. It was a 5K for CRY (Child's Rights and You), an India based NGO. It was a horrible race on a very personal level, my iPod had a hitch and I lost my music for some reason, it was a very hot mid-morning, I was running solo... I can keep writing excuses about my performance that didn't match up against my expectations but the fact remains that after that race, I gave up. I tried to register for races but it was for the sake of fitness, not because I wanted to run. I had placed myself into the categories of 'Runners' and my performance was not worthy of 'Runners' World'.
And then by late fall I realized that I had lost all the stamina and I couldn't run my usual 3-4 miles anymore. It was again one of those 'eureka' moment, I was missing it because I had lost it. Why do we have to loose something before we know its importance?
I came across a few quotes in Runner's World magazine that I noted in my quotes book and referred to at times, these became my motivation:
1) Running is a free-form activity; we alone determine how fast, how far, and how long we run. The empowerment of running is open to anyone, at any speed. Your definition of "slow" may change as your grow more fit, and will change again as you grow older.
2) At some point, all new runners realize that they are capable of tackling just about anything - whether its hills, speedwork, long runs, or even races. The fact that you are attempting such a range of runs marks a major accomplishment.
As, I am trying to work on my speed for the mothers' Day 5K, I look at these pictures and say to myself, 'you have done it before and you'll do it again'... They were taken at the CRY 5K 2010.
