The leaves sing around her ankles.
I love how she runs with abandon. She doesn’t care how she looks. She doesn’t care if her hair is styled or even if it’s brushed. She doesn’t care if her pants are too tight or too loose or too pink. She just runs.
Her legs pump fast and her Dora socks slip down and I stand back at the bottom of the side walk and watch.
The last of the afternoon sun is burning up the sky around her as she burns down that track.
She runs because it fills her up. Fills her with joy and laughter and exhilaration. Because she knows the Truth. She runs because she loves her body and how strong her new, just two-year-old legs are. She runs because she can. Not because she must or because she’s worried about what she ate last night.
She runs because she still remembers how to celebrate being alive. Rather than to measure it, discipline it, absorb it.
She runs and her curls bounce and the leaves are racing up the road behind her.
She’s looking at me over her shoulder and yelling, “Run mama, come on, let’s run!”
I spread my arms and run beside her until we are flying.
This post was written in just five minutes. With no editing. It’s part of what we call Five Minute Fridays. An invitation to write like we used to run – with abandon.
Everyone welcome. Details on how to participate all over here.
And for the artists? The painters, the sketchers, the sculptors? Last week Mavis invited you all to a 15 minute Friday drawing challenge. Love this idea so much!
Lisa-Jo, I adore this. I love the mental picture (even beyond the actual picture, which is adorable) I get when I read this post. I want to remember to celebrate being alive rather than measuring it. Ugh… just YES. And thanks. Again. :) So appreciate you.
So – I totally mean this in the least creepy way possible – but is it safe to admit that I was more than half hoping to find Zoe Grace at Allume? LOL (For real though… #totesadorbs!) How amazing is it that these littles just keep on teaching us… again and again?
Ha love that Karrilee – yup she is TOTES adorbs. But also TOTES too busy for her mama to try and corral her at a conference :)
What a cutie, Zoe, is :) Yes, run….with abandon, and write with freedom and joy :) Blessings to you, Lisa-Jo :)
You my friend are a blessing. Thank you for every week sharing truth and beautiful words with us. Your daughter is absolutely precious. Your words are like candy for my soul. Thank you.
That is so sweet my youngest daughter is also 2 and she runs just the same like she is winning the world’s race. The first ever to feel the air against her face, feet hardly touching the ground. I loved your post. Thank you again for always hosting. Have a great weekend!
Expect Blessings!
Truth
The truth is life is hard with an infant.
And I don’t know if the hardest part is how unprepared you are. You hear about how stressful it can be and you think that it is just for a few weeks and that you will just get through it. And then you are stuck in the middle of it, wondering why you thought your life would be better with a new baby, crying, maybe screaming and just plain tired.
But the truth is your life is better.
Those cute little smiles that then turn into giggles and squeals make all the stress in your life caused by this little person worth it.
I’m still in the middle of sleepless nights and about once a week I stop and cry, but it doesn’t change the fact that I couldn’t live without this little person who has changed my life so much. I’m looking forward to the journeys up and downs that I know will come.
But I know that the ups will counter out the downs so the journey will be worth it and I can’t wait.
I look forward to when i can squeeze in 5 minutes into my Friday and just write! Thanks! And I love how different the posts are. It so interesting what one word can bring.
This reminds me of my almost two year old, who would take off running and laughing every time his feet touched the grass at the park. Beautifully written as always Lisa! :)
I love to run. But I always love it most when I’m running just to do so. Not to burn calories, not to train for a race. But just to be outside with Jesus. Running with Him.
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I always look forward to Fridays and reading all the blogs:) Thank you for doing this:)
I love that. And how much I want that again.
Truth
I’m on facebook throughout my day, at work and at home. I go to Pinterest when I need ideas that are “good”, unlike mine. I see the wonderful things other people I know are doing with their families, with their children and I measure my truth to what I see of theirs. I find great ideas, pin them to a board and wish I could be that creative. But what is hiding behind those “truths”? Are my facebook friends as happy as they seem to be? Do they cherish their families as much as it appears they do? Am I creating their truth based on my own? Sure, I update my status every once in a while but only represent the truth I want the world to see. Our family is wonderful and has no issues, we do meaningful things together all the time and my kids are happy to do them. Our teams win, our kids get good grades, we spend our anniversaries celebrating in wonderful ways, nobody cries, fights, or forgets to feed the dog. My truth is really none of those things. My truth is real, not carefully filtered. My truth is everyday life, the struggles, the triumphs, big and small. My daughter celebrates a B she just barely made, my son remembered to feed the dogs without being asked, the paint color I picked really does look good in the kitchen. My truth is sporting events, win or lose, practices, Scouts, meetings, volunteering, doctor appointments, work, homework, date night once in a great while, church. The busy-ness of life and the little wins and losses. That is my truth.
Hi Lisa Jo,
Beautiful little girl. I pray that some day we will all be able to live out Truth, and have the abandon we did as a child to see each other and the world as God sees us! Blessings in Christ.
True beauty is when our children remind us what true innocence is really is. Thank you for the reminder to live freely through our children. ~ Mary
Ahhh… I can feel that childhood exhilaration and freedom. Yet my mind is telling me my body is too creaky, too old. The “truths” we tell ourselves (and come to believe) are so much less fun than the Truth that is. Thanks for sharing, Lisa-Jo.
You have one cute kid! May we all be that free.
“She runs because she still remembers how to celebrate being alive. Rather than to measure it, discipline it, absorb it.”
Oh, if we could all just remember to celebrate this truth!
Loved this!!
And here’s my truth for the day…
http://wendytate.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/the-truth-is/
The sweetness in itty bitty – running with abandon – I remember those days. It’s so much easier to run for things like chasing a tennis ball with a racket but not on a track – oh, no! My littlest are starting to complain about the aches and pains of running, needed inserts – and how I miss when they ran hard, played hard – and slept hard – and joy just oozed out of them! Thanks for reminding me of the sweetness:) I especially loved this line: celebrate being alive. Rather than to measure it, discipline it, absorb it. –
This was one of my favorite lines as well; definitely reminded me of my littles, as well as myself… once upon a time!
Many people ask me why I run, and why sometimes I even have to pay for it, joining running events. And I simply say, I run because I can, and I love the feel of it, much like what you said in this line: “She runs because she still remembers how to celebrate being alive.” There will be a time that I cannot run anymore…but while I still can, I will, with the same giddiness and excitement that your little girl feels. :-)
I love this, Aileen! I don’t yet exercise because “I love the feel of it.”
BUT I do love being alive, and want to continue to be so!)
My truth is that I have never learned to believe in me. I come from a long line of un.believers. Or Non, or Dis, or Anti or… whatever. Oh, I was taught how to believe. I believe in God. My faith in Him is the air I breathe. Without it I could not get out of bed in the morning; and I mean that quite literally.
I know how to believe in others. I root them on, build them up so they can find what they need to fly toward their dreams. Honestly, the people around me kindof expect it.
And, I love it.
It actually energizes me.
And, best of all, it Does..Not..Scare..Me.
The point is that this is a new truth for me. Something I have denied for a long time, or more accurately something I have hidden. Behind an outgoing personality; for a time behind performance.
Anyone else familiar with that one? Sounds something like this:
“I’ll just stay here in my prescribed lane, where I know what I’m doing enough to not make people uncomfortable or where I won’t be rocking any boats with annoyances like questions or out.of.the.box thinking or creativity. Sure I’m not passionate about it anymore, but it’s my role and one thing I know is how to do what is expected of me.”
You wanna talk Truth? It may be less about the Them and more about my own fears and misgivings. What if I find out my passion is unfounded? What if I fail and wish I had never stepped out of my familiar, well.worn rut? What if people who know me become uncomfortable because they feel they don’t know me anymore once I learn to define myself as more than one thing? One role? One ability? What if I don’t find the support I feel I need to succeed? Worse yet, what if I DO succeed? Now THAT’S scary.
As much as I would like to scurry back behind my well.constructed mountain of fear and disbelief, I will choose instead to embrace my Truth. So that I can change it. So that I may fully embrace God’s Truth of who He created me to be. And teach others to seek his Truth about them.
Stop. *honesty disclaimer* Once again, I have made it an EIGHT Minute Friday… Doesn’t quite have the same ring, but …who cares, right? ;))