100 Days

While checking out my work calendar today, I noticed this little nugget of information:

Today is the 100th day of 2013...what the what?!

Of course we always talk about the months flying by, even if the days drag on, but I say as long as I'm enjoying life and making progress towards my goals, I'm ok with it. However, it's still nice to step back and take a look at what's happened so far this year and what's ahead. It helps to firm up action plans and reassess goals.

Here are the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year and what progress I've made towards them thus far:

Start researching adoption specifics. - I have actually done quite a bit of research on the adoption front, and it is so overwhelming. I've discovered that Nebraska is one of 4 states that have laws explicitly stating that gays and lesbians cannot be foster parents - whether they are in a relationship or not. (No one identifying as a homosexual can be a foster parent.) There are many other states with less explicit language - saying you must be married + gay marriage isn't allowed in said state - but this discovery about Nebraska's law (written in 1996) was pretty upsetting. Katie and I would like the option to be foster parents and, more so, to adopt children from the foster care system. Some good news is that Iowa is one of the states that allow both people in a same-sex couple to adopt a child, making them both legal parents. Well, it's not explicitly prohibited. (It is prohibited in Nebraska.) Even though we seem to be getting closer and closer to marriage equality, I still think it will be years to get these types of laws changed. I'm starting to think that moving to Iowa may be the best option if we choose to have kids...

Run 2 marathons...and set a PR. - I was on track to run a pretty strong marathon this spring and excited to do it with my friends. However, my good ol' wrist break has halted those plans. I am still unable to run, so all marathons have been put on hold (I'm just glad I hadn't paid for any already!) I'm hoping to get back at it as soon as I can and then run one in the late summer (Omaha?) and another in the fall (Hartford?).

Visit my grandmother. - No set plans yet, but I'm toying with the idea of going in the fall. She lives just outside of Hartford so I could do a combo marathon + visit trip.

Redo our front porch. - Again, no progress, but we have at least been talking about it. Turns out Katie and I both have big plans for the house! I'm starting to panic about the costs, so some prioritizing and budgeting are in order. I'd love to get the outdoor spaces spruced up ASAP so we can enjoy them this spring & summer.

Get CPR certified. - I have only looked into courses. There are plenty through the Red Cross, but I also found some online that are much cheaper. However, I'm wondering if it would be worth it to pay the extra money in order to be able to practice on a dummy and get feedback. Perhaps I can do the online course and then have Kate make sure I've got it right. Have you ever done an online CPR certification?

Make it through a BodyPump bicep track with 10lb plates. - I was consistently making it through bicep tracks with 7.5lb plates right before I went on vacation. Since my broken wrist will sideline me for at least 6 weeks when all is said and done, I'm sure I'll lose some strength. However, I'm still pretty confident that there is enough time yet to meet this goal before the end of the year.

Volunteer at a race for each race that I run. - Hey, a goal I'm not behind on! I've run and volunteered at the same number of races so far this year...zero.

I actually thought coming into this post that my update would be really discouraging, but it's not. I'm still doing what I can when I can, and I don't need to sulk about my missed marathon forever. This break from running is actually making me excited to get out there again! I'm also thinking about all of the fun things I want to do this summer when I'm good and healed...kayaking, playing tennis, hosting BBQs, etc.

Also, I love my job. And I love being able to say that. It seriously makes my life so much more enjoyable. Maybe that's why these past 100 days flew by.