Finding Home

Last Saturday, I attended another TNT recruitment meeting. We had another great turnout & this time, I was even asked to speak. The honored patient that was supposed to talk never showed up so I was asked to tell the story about my brother-in-law, why I joined TNT, & about my experience. I was calm & nervous at the same time & I just spoke from the heart. It was a very different experience being the one everyone was listening to. I'm used to watching from the sidelines. One woman in particular seemed to be very moved by my story. It felt good to tell it.

The rest of the week was spent trying to recover from a very nasty cold/flu/allergy thing while having a miserable time at work. I was SO glad when the week was finally over & I could finally breathe, both literally & figuratively. I had a great time Friday night at the ice house, just sitting outside, having a few drinks, & shootin' the shit with a few of my teammates. It was exactly what I needed. We didn't stay out too late because we all had to be up early to help set up for the big TNT winter season kick-off party.

I got to the hotel ballroom just a little after 8:00 am & started to help blowing up balloons for the table centerpieces. The rest of the place was all in a tizzy, trying to get everything just perfect. Eventually the vendors started showing up & setting up shop & the place was looking very nicely put together. In a few minutes, the newest members of TNT would be showing up, ready, willing, & able to get started on this wild & crazy adventure.

It was amazing how many people were there. We filled that entire HUGE ballroom & everything went off without a hitch. I got to meet 6 of my mentees (2 of them had just signed up that day). It was weird how comfortable I was with the whole situation. As I met each person, it was all so simple. I talked to them about the program & answered all their questions. I could tell some of them were nervous, but I think I made them feel a little more at ease. Eventually we were just laughing & joking around.

I think the costume helped.

You see, all of the coaches & mentors were required to dress in costume for the occasion... something that would represent one of the 3 marathons we are doing this season (Honolulu, Houston, & Arizona). It was supposed to inspire the new recruits & add a little more fun into the mixture, not to mention an easy way for the newbies to pick us out of the crowd. I couldn't make up my mind on what to wear, so I decided to go w/ the Rock-n-Roll Hula Cowgirl outfit you see here. Everyone really seemed to get a kick out of it.

Little did I know that there was going to be a contest for "Best Dressed". And who do you think should win?

That's right... yours truly!

My winnings? A free one-hour massage. YIPEE!!!! Lord knows I'm gonna need that, especially after I get back into running the longer distances.

It really was a great day. Every day I'm with these people, the more it feels like "home". It all just.... fits. I applied for the job at TNT, and as badly as I want this job, I have a feeling I'm not going to get it. I really don't think I'm completely qualified. But I'm going to try to not let it discourage me. Who knows... maybe there will be some other position available that I'm more suited for. A girl can dream, right?

In the mean time, I'm going to start my training again. We'll see what happens from there.