In control...out of control

I packed a bag tonight that my wife is taking on her trip to NY tomorrow and will leave with her family. That will enable me to change clothes and pick up a sleeping bag before the marathon in NY. The plan is to sleep overnight in tents in Antarctica after the final race. 

As I packed, I was thinking about how remarkably I am not really stressed about the stuff that’s not in my control. The race organizer emailed yesterday and discussed the potential impact of the Mid East situation on our flights to Cairo via Dubai. Also, there is about an 80% success rate of flying into Antarctica on the scheduled day. Since there is enough to be concerned about that is in my control, I’m not going to worry about stuff that isn’t. If luck prevails and everything works out to finish this in 8 days, then great; if it ends up taking more days due to some other factor, so be it. It will actually be a good life lesson on stressing about the right stuff, and true to my mission to be positive about the whole experience.  

Speaking of positivity at running events in my last post, I just remembered this situation. My wife was running the half marathon after me, so I was out supporting her. An absolutely lovely woman and her son were also cheering on all of the runners. I had told them that my wife, Devika, was about to appear. They enthusiastically cheered on a pretty Irish looking lady before I pointed out Devika...