Capitol Storm vs Warrior Dash

That fricken Capitol Storm. The more information I learn, the more confused I become.

WHAT.

THE.

WHAT.

My brain was aswirl and I didn’t know where to file all this information. These people must be nuts….but so many of them were lucid enough to make travel plans and arrive at a specific place on time, which is much more than lots of folks are capable of! People, you can't do things like this…but yet, I am looking at them with my eyes! Professionals, Olympic medalists, MOMS. How will I ever trust or admire again?

I craved explanations and guidance. The way I often cope with anxiety is through seeking information. I found some perspective from recent podcasts from a couple of my heroes. Jeremy Courtney from Preemptive Love helped me wrap my head around these unfamiliar perspectives and shined a light on a reparative direction through patience and defiant compassion. Brene Brown reinforced the importance of accountability while reminding me of the dangers dehumanization. We are all fallible and have made less-than-optimal decisions for which we must be held accountable with empathy. Jeremy’s Q and A is about 20 minutes, while Brene talks for about an hour. I encourage you to give them a listen and bet you will feel at least a little bit comforted and encouraged.

My family participated in the Warrior Dash a couple of times back in 2011 and 2014. Just follow me for a minute here. The Warrior Dash is a 5k obstacle run that is wholesome and fun. In 2011, Alex was in 6^th grade and JUST old enough to participate, so Albert and Alex ran the course while Chris, Audrey, and I cheered them on. Three years later, all the kids were old enough, so we did it again. We drove an hour into the boonies to North Plains, AKA The Middle of Nowhere. Guess why Warrior Dash came into my mind this week!

We got hats! This one is from our first dash. The ones from our second dash were red. There were times that we were totally out of control.

We were literally engulfed by the Scum of the Earth. OK, Brene Brown, I recognize this as dehumanizing language. It was a cheap joke.

You see that mud pit? It was filled with water and TOPSOIL. I learned this information as I waded from one end to the other. I asked the staff, “Why does this smell like poo? IS THIS POO WATER??” I was overcome with a horrified delight. Wood chips and grit were trapped in every secret crevice during that hour-long ride back home. We had SO MUCH FUN!

We dodged fire and fury, but no journalism equipment was involved.

There’s no real comparison between our Warrior Dash family bonding and the divisive shitshow that happened on January 6.

But this is how my mind protects me. When I encounter or experience things that are painful, sad, and horrible, I try to work things out. But before I become overwhelmed and despondent, my mind takes me elsewhere, usually to a funny place, causing me to laugh COMPLETELY INAPPRORIATELY in the midst of serious or distressing times. I’ve learned the importance of circling back to ponder on the hard things once I’ve taken a break so that I don’t tumble into utter avoidance.

Hard things have been happening and will continue to happen.

Take good care of yourselves, my friends, and we can work through the hard things together.

Thank you for reading!