It's Opening Day

So today was supposed to be Opening Day for Baseball and while I haven't made it to an Opening Day game in years, that used to be a tradition for me for a few years shortly after getting out of college (before kids).   

I've always loved baseball and there is just something special about Opening Day.   I used to spend a good bit of my summers as a kid with my grandparents and my "Papa" spent a lot of time listening to baseball on the radio.   Probably what started my love of the game.   Even now sometimes I'll listen on the radio even though every game is televised these days.

But Opening Day...there's just something different about it.    And while it sounds callous to say this when people are dying, today everything suddenly felt "real".

Of course it wasn't just baseball not starting, or the Boston Marathon being postponed....today we learned that school at home is being extended further (no real surprise there) to April 17th and honestly I'll be shocked if they go back then.  

Today "at" work I learned we're being extended at home all the way to April 31st and that management is taking a pay cut to save jobs.    While these things are painful, I'm grateful to have a job that can work from home.

Today, I also heard from my printer for our performance running shirts that they are "non-essential" and shutting down for a while.   So for now you can only get cotton shirts from us.   More importantly say a prayer for those folks that they are ok and get through this without too much financial burden.

And today someone my age in my area died of the virus.    Of course the news doesn't give a lot of details so I have no idea what other risk factors this person might have had, but still gets in your head a bit.

Quite a bit of things to take in all in one day.  

But still I must be grateful for the blessings that are in my life.    At the moment everyone in my family is fine, and unlike a lot of the folks complaining on-line...I'm having a great time "stuck in the house" with my wife and kids.    We haven't even made it through all the board games yet :)

Sorry this post hasn't been much about running and maybe a little dark, so let’s end with a bit of hope if you will.

You're still in control of your experience.  

• Yes other people are telling you when/where to work, worship, eat, school, etc.  
• Yes the financial markets are doing crazy things.  
• Yes there is a nasty bug out there.

But you still get to control how YOU respond.   

So...

1. Be grateful for what you do have. Even if the only thing you can come up with is you woke up today.     Heck you're reading this... so be grateful for the magical internet and (probably) phone in your hand to see it.     Doesn't matter what it is, practice being grateful every day.   I promise it will help.   
2. Be nice to the people you do interact with. Even if they do something stupid, you can control how you respond.  For the first time in a long time, basically everyone you encounter has the same concerns as you in the back of their mind.   Cut them some slack.     Be nice to the person in the drive thru who got your order wrong.   (especially if it was my daughter, she's new there)
3. Stay active. For many of us, we find a lot of extra time on our hands.   Control that time, don't give it all to Netflix... you can walk, run, bike...heck just do some jumping jacks if you can't go outside.  
4. CALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. Again...it’s your time...use it.    We've gotten so used to texting, but I promise you...call one person a day and it will make both your day and theirs.   Do something crazy like write a handwritten letter to someone.
5. Don't panic. Yeah this probably should have been number 1.    In first aid training they say don't make someone else's emergency into your emergency.   Again you're in control of your actions and responses.    Be prudent, take care of what you need to take care of, but don't panic.  

Y'all stay safe and keep running