this is not that day

My son Cameron ran and completed his first marathon yesterday. In Missoula, Montana. Cameron came upon, and passed, the sign pictured above at mile 19, and he told me later it was quite emotional, and powerfully encouraging. Affirming. This is you, you have suited up and shown up, and you are doing this. You will do this. A year ago Cameron wasn’t running 100 yards.

Some 1000 miles away finds me laboring with the technical processes of creating the paid subscription membership for couchsurfingat70 I announced last Friday. Struggling. I’m not saying laboring in any way like Cameron and most of the other runners at mile 19. But facing the “Never done this before” truth of creating a thing which actually works, and finding a way to get from first step to last.

So yeah. There will come a day when I cannot do this – whatever that looks like, whatever that means – but July 1, 2024 is not that day. Cameron crossing the finish line 26.2 miles after his first step, and me actually figuring out the wizardy and expense of setting up the thing I said I would, feel like light years apart. Like apples and oranges.

Except when they’re not. And why the sign has an encouraging message for me to.