Picture it, Sicily, I mean, Westwood, Bruin Town, 2016. Any Golden Girl fans catch that Sophia reference? Yes? No? If yes, she’s cute, right? If not, you might want to watch-funny and smart ladies. So, yes, picture it. Gor-geous fall morning. Sprinkles of rain, revealing a crisp, early morning sun and chill, music bum-pin’, good music, the kind that makes you moooove and groooooove-my kind of music! Runners, runners…, a sprinkle of non- runner college students (at least not dressed in running clothes), and more runners, everywhere… What a vision, riii-ght?
The time? 8:25…ish. Can you guess what I was doing on the UCLA campus at that time on a Sunday?
Running? O-f course!
A 9:00am start time is always a treat, especially, as a parent, it allows for more sleep in time for my son and husband. Both are incredibly supportive and as much as my husband would prefer to sleep in, he really couldn’t enjoy added slumber in peace knowing he wasn’t on site to cheer me on. Plus, his voice always gives me motivation to push. Somehow, he knows the exact location where I will need the push and encouragement most. Just when I’m feeling sore legs or the need to take a breather, I hear him, loud and clear. Sometimes, I wish I had his thundering voice. It would be lovely to have when cheering for my son, nephews, and their teams on the baseball field, basketball court and pool. But, I’ve grown to love my soft spoken tone, too. Plus, I can sing my heart out and dance upstairs while he and my son are downstairs, sparing their ears. No matter how loud I think I sound, it’s still a whisper in comparison to most voices.
But, this post is not about the pitch and sound of my husband’s voice or mine. It’s about two of my favorite things and how they were combined on Sunday, November 20th, 2016 at Bruinville (a.k.a, UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, for those of you not familiar with the awe-some campus).
Earlier in the year, I signed up for my first “We Run the City 5k”, taking place, each year, during the UCLA vs USC football rivalry game in Southern California, my hometown. If you are familiar with the rivalry, you know a lot of mostly innocent, fun college student banter takes place the week leading to the “big” day. Due to reasons pertaining to the brain, I’m not much of a football fan, but that’s a different post. However, somehow we end up on UCLA’s campus, each year, on “the” weekend. We get to see some of what the Trojans had in store for the Bruins. Usually, our reasoning for being on campus “the week” is basketball games, cultural events, or in the past school or work related, but this year it wasn’t for those reasons.
This year…
Our reasoning for being on campus during rivalry week was for…, wait for it… Running… Actually, racing! Oh, wait! The element of surprise is gone, I already told you in my introduction this was a running related post. Sorry.
Ok, so this was one of the races where I had the luxury of curbside drop-off and knowledge of where to locate parking. All those years of paying daily parking fees finally turned into a positive. We knew the location of less crowded, best priced, and closest lots to the starting line. While I picked up by bib (easy-peasy), changed my shirt (this was the first time I wore the race day shirt on race day. It was too cute not to wear), and located the starting line, my husband and son were parking.
I’m the type of runner needing a warm up half to a mile before I get my groove on, so as soon as I received a call from my husband letting me know where they were parked, I sprinted towards their direction. Alright, I’m exaggerating, not a sprint, a fast walk-slow sprint towards them. The steps where they would be coming down are a trek and you know how I feel about elevation, I didn’t want to overexert myself before the race.
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| I sprinted up and down these steps with my son many times in his early years. |
I ran towards them with a giant smile and exaggerated wave to get an eye roll from my son. Boy, did I succeed! He’s fun. Being his mom during the adolescent years will be filled with laughs-mostly on my end, I think. But, I do get smiles to go with the eye rolls, so I’m thinking a medium sized part of him enjoys my attempts at embarrassing him. Yes, I do many of these “embarrassing things” to get eye-roll-smiles, but the primary reasoning is to instill in him not caring what others think. As long as we are being kind and nobody is getting hurt (physically, emotionally, or mentally), other’s opinions shouldn’t negatively impact how we choose to experience life. I want him to feel free to be himself-always! As he approaches adolescence, especially, now, this message is important.
What?! Ah! Not Fair!
As my son slowly raises his head and looks ahead, I hear, “… Mom, look,” with a facial and body gesture showing concern as he pointed towards a corner of the Arthur Ash Student Health and Wellness Center building, “… I don’t know, Mom… I don’t know if you’re going to have a chance to place today. Look, the UCLA track team is running, too.” Well, I wasn’t planning on placing this time, but seeing the blue and gold crew in their awesomeness did put a tiny damper on any thoughts of placing. This is not the type of race where PR’s and placing are of importance, anyway.
Warm-Up with Dion Jackson!
Any idea who he is? I didn’t, but after his electrifying and energizing warm-up, I can now say, I do. As you know, I LOVE running and dancing, and of course, baseball. But, in addition to all those physical activities, I l-o-ve anything active, anything that gets my blood pumping and serotonin and dopamine receptors releasing and releasing to their hearts desire. Pretty much all sports, hiking, and yoga. However, I am NOT a fan of releasing those lovely endorphins for the sake of “working out” (the gym). I know many people that feel passionate about indoor exercise (ha-hem, I won’t mention any names, my brother, who is supposed to be running with me, but clearly running is his gym because he keeps coming up with excuses for not joining me), but I need to be outdoors. The combination of air, sun, nature, and outdoor sports is my preference for keeping my mind and body healthy. But, a gym workout with this trainer to the "stars" would be fun!
Anyway, Mr. Dion Jackson was my cup of coffee on race morning. He started energizing the sea, ok, not a sea, I’m exaggerating, again, but there were many runners outfitted in UCLA and USC colors (lovely blue/gold and wonk, wonk, wonk-dreary red/gold). This was one of the first races where many people wore the race day shirt. I rubbed elbows with several in the Student Services locker room. First time, I saw many women in the bathroom not waiting in a line for a stall for its intended purpose. Ha! The quality and feel of the shirt was awesome. I felt guilty about not donating more to The Special Olympics because of the great quality goodies we received from the sponsors.
So, we all donned (or, most of us) our respective school colors as Dion and a lovely group of co-energizers lead us through fifteen minutes of stretching. It was more dancing than stretching, so you know I shook, rattled and rolled-literally! Ask my son, he was trying to find a hiding place in the vast open space. I kept nudging him to join me, but the look on his face and the lowering of his UCLA cap brim gave me a huge hint to stop… But, I kept shakin’ and g-roo-vin’… Until, a wise voice spoke to me, “Mom… you’re going to tire yourself before your race…!” Honestly, it was a fun work out. A really fun one, but I took my son’s advice because I was feeling a teeny bit out of breath after the first song. SO, here are pictures I took while the second song/dance was taking place. I was still groovin’ and movin’ in place, but not participating in the jumps and turns.
Let the Competition Begin… Go Bruins! Don’t worry, blue, you have me on your side.
U…-C…-L…-A… U-C-L-A. Fight! Fight! Fight!
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| No PR's for many runners on this race... Very slow start and I waited for all speakers to finish before I lined up. |
As you know, I’m a HUGE believer and proponent of LOVE, but I’m not perfect and I love competitive sports. Typically, running is not a competitive sport for me, but when it involves the well-known Southern California university rivalry and I’m running for the awesome blue team, I can’t help it, my competitive side makes a cameo.
Do you see my smile? Guess why I’m smiling?
Yes, of course, endorphins and love of running, but not here… I’m smiling because I was getting ready to pass two USC runners (much bigger than me, too). They had no idea, they were about to eat my dust! Pretty much, this run was a combination running for all the bright and beautiful blue in life and the strength to overcome red gloom. We all have to have a little darkness, it keeps life interesting and prevents complacency, right? It keeps us on our toes, always questioning and seeking truth. As long as it’s non-harming, playful darkness, of course. For me, having a smidgen of darkness keeps me continually fighting for kindness, truth, honesty, and the mindset and knowledge to positively further and enhance our world.
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| I used a filter on this one for a more dramatic effect. It captures my though process about the race and beyond . Do you see the intensity and determination?! hahaha I make myself laugh... |
Did I pass those two much bigger red runners? Of course! When I set my mind on anything, I don’t give up until I accomplish it. I don’t know where the eventual placing ended because I went after other red runners after them, but the placing didn’t matter, I had passed them. I showed myself I wasn’t going to let their size and redness get in the way of making gains for the bright and beautiful. Positive thinking and determination to spread kindness and knowledge makes its way, one person at a time.
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| I tried emulating my runner-friend's AWESOME medal pictures! His medal pictures are ALWAYS gorgeous! |
Memories… Light the corner of my mind…
... Misty... wa-ter… cooolor-ed mem-o-r-ies… of the way we weeeeere… And, I need to stop, I’m getting cringe looks and redirection questions. My singing voice is not that bad… Not nice, Mr. Stanley… Not nice… Remember…, you’re always modeling for the mini-version of you…
Yes, Barbara, you are right. Being on UCLA’s campus last Sunday evoked your lyrics. My husband, son and I spent many hours on this campus creating memories together from 2006 to 2009. As young parents, we spent a lot of our time walking, using the Bruin shuttle, and for me running with a jogging stroller from the south side to the north side of campus. It was much quicker than the whole stroller ordeal, chasing a toddler just to get on the shuttle, plus, the shuttle made a lot of stops in between North and South. It really was much faster if I ran with the stroller. We’ve been on campus many times since those days; however, a lot of memories were sparked because of recent changes to our world and running the campus for the first time without heeled shoes and professional attire.
From the years, 2006-2009, we witnessed and experienced many changes outside of the campus world. At the end of each day, we left our worldly, knowledge filled environment to an uncertain time. Fortunately, the last year of our almost daily visits to the campus, we exited the same loving, knowledge rich campus into the start of a world geared towards positive changes for all.
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| My Husband's Graduation Day- Spring 2009! Imagine running and sprinting after this adorable, curious, and adventurous little person or pushing him in a jogging stroller in dress attire. We were a fun sight-for sure! |
Sadly, a few weeks ago, all of the hope and progress was threatened by grey clouds, thunderstorms, and hurricanes of darkness. However, running on that campus, surrounded by people, different people, all supportive and cheering for a phenomenal cause and organization, The Special Olympics, I was reminded of why I love education so much. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but, as soon as education is affordable, I am signing up for another graduate degree.
I’m a life-long learner, but the feeling of being on a college campus, in a college classroom, engaging in intelligent discussions and conversation with like-minded individuals is addicting. Walking and running it many times when my son was younger, trying to make it on time to participant interviews when working at the Semel Institute by coordinating my schedule with my husband’s class schedule, along with chasing after an adventurous toddler, turned preschooler through the course of our time on campus required a lot of miles. But, as challenging as that was, I was always happy and hopeful while walking, running, hiking, driving miles in and around the campus, knowing I was surrounded by people who wanted a positive life for everyone. It was a major smile producer.
SO, being on campus this past Sunday, surrounded by people, dressed in blue and red with hints of gold on both sides, cheering for and supporting the same positive cause and team, let me know that change begins with one person. One person at a time. Yes, the climate outside the campus may be different, but if I want to pursue and instill kindness and positive energy, I must begin with me. I must have the courage to accept that not everyone has experienced the beauty of a college campus, so I must share it by being a symbol of that beauty. Maybe if I shine some of the light and beauty onto those who don’t know or fear that life, maybe, just maybe, they might want to take a peak on their own. If you’ve ever truly experienced university life, truly embraced education (not, simply, a focus on GPA, grades, and future financial or professional success), and the wonders of knowledge, you know there is no way anyone cannot see the wonderment, beauty, and positive transformation true education gives to the mind and soul.
But, it can’t be forced, like all great things in life, they must be self-driven. The only way people can become self-driven is through modeling kindness, encouragement, and love. For me, love, running, and education are key to a kind and loving mind and soul.
I will keep learning, caring, loving… and, of course, running, until my time is up.
Epilogue
If, like me, you like added footage after movies or epilogues in books, here you go…
Post-Race, Flag-Football match-up (UCLA vs USC)
After the race, a friendly flag football match up took place against UCLA and USC. Each team included current students from their respective university, along with Special Olympics athletes. It's a wonderful mentoring program in which student and athlete learn from each other. As a lover of sports with a son who is also an athlete, having him join me for this race had extra significance in my parenting goals. While we have exposed him to a myriad of cultural experiences, people, and activities, we continually remind him of the importance of engaging with and experiencing life with people of different backgrounds and abilities. As a child who has excelled academically, socially, and athletically all of his life, it could become difficult for him to truly appreciate his abilities and advantages and not become entitled, so we must continually remind him to appreciate his positive life situation, but to never forgot to use his voice and position for positive.
Earlier in the school year, I blogged about the importance of instilling and reminding our children of the need to always choose kindness. Sadly, due to unexpected negative changes taking place in our country’s leadership, the need to remind our children to choose love, acceptance, and kindness is even more important. While we try to expose my son to all people, he hasn’t had much exposure to Special Olympics athletes, so when he asked to stay for the entire flag-football game, I smiled. He was impressed to see so many runners and walkers pushing themselves in ways he has never had to. Along with that, watching the football game and having an understanding of what competitive sports entails was inspiring to him.
The fact that we were one of the last to leave the event, let me know the message I wanted him to pick-up was received. While I continually teach and model kindness, acceptance, and love, sometimes the message is picked up best through self-observation and discovery. I do my part in teaching at home, but we must also provide him with opportunities to practice and experience what I teach. The teaching at home is like the “classroom” and the experiences and opportunities his dad and I expose him to serve as “field trips” needed to see the words in action.
While I continue to learn about our world, I will ensure my son is too. My goal is that through our parenting, he gains the foundation for a future filled with as much joy as he can experience while making kindness his number one rule, too.
Like the Avenger movies, extra, extra features… If you are the movie goers who leave after the credits, you can close my post, now, but if you wait to see if there’s extra, extra features, keep reading…
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| The Fowler Museum- We learned inside and outside the building. A lot of rolling, rumbling, and chasing happened here, outside the museum. Our lunch picnics turned into "Rolling down the sand-hills", The Wiggles song- his favorite band, then. Precious memories... |
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| Royce Hall Entrance- Gorgeous building, right? If you're a parent on campus, this is the nicest bathroom, too! Most student don't realize it's often open. |
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| Royce Hall- a.k.a," Dan Zanes' Concert, remember, Mommy..." each time we walked (mostly ran) near this section of campus. We took him to watch a few concerts, but the ones that stood out most to him were Dan Zanes. His 2nd favorite band, then. |
As mentioned, our family spent a lot of time on this gorgeous campus during our son’s “first five”. I often waited for my husband to finish his class/es, so we could swap child –care duties. He was working full-time, off campus, attending classes full time, on campus, and I was working part-time on campus and around campus recruiting participants, conducting interviews with participants, and attending meetings for “The Women’s Project” at The Semel Institute, so it made sense to schedule our hours around each other’s schedule. Plus, we had extremely limited assistance with child care. It was a challenging time, juggling all our roles between the two of us, but in hindsight, we wouldn’t change a thing about it. We gained more than we lost from those years sharing in our juggling act of full time parenting, work, and school.
As we waited on campus, I was given many opportunities to teach my son about his world. If you’re familiar with the campus, you know there are several museums and learning opportunities for people of all ages. The majority of my husband’s classes were around the history department building which is surrounded by a beautiful sculpture garden and the art department building, and Fowler Museum, so I was beaming with excitement to share knowledge with the adorable, little, speedy person that kept running away if I gave too much information. He was a great teacher on how to summarize with as much of the juicy information a toddler, latter preschooler could grasp. Quick and age appropriate, Karina, was my mantra when teaching him early in my parenting.
The Sculpture Garden
These two were his favorite sculptures.
Gee, I wonder why? Perfect opportunity to discuss nature and the human body-age appropriate, of course! But, this and many of the teaching opportunities and experiences I was able to provide for him have shaped him into the kind, mature, deep, and insightful thinker who is comfortable expressing his thoughts and feelings with us because questioning and the hunger for knowledge has been nurtured since birth. Really, since in utero because when I decided to be a mom, I adapted my thoughts, feeling and actions towards that role.
Art Department Building- These sculptures are also on display at LACMA
And, like we did all those years ago, we left the campus on Sunday, with the reminder of how we were able to overcome what was in store for us and many Americans when under leadership we didn’t agree with, but in order to make positive changes, we had to make sure our son and his generation were raised with the hunger for knowledge, life-long knowledge, and the desire to put that knowledge into practice towards kindness and love.
As we excited the campus, from the same exit we did many years ago, my husband and I had a craving for, Carnival, our favorite Lebanese restaurant in Sherman Oaks.
A place we haven’t visited in too long since our move, but fitting on such a memory filled day. We often stopped there on crazy, busy days. Now, we stop almost every time we visit the UCLA campus. It’s not in Westwood, but it was on the way to our previous home. Our son called it, “sharma-sharma”. “Guys, are we having sharma-sharma, today?” He was right, we love their shawarma and everything else. This is one of many reasons I love America. We live in Los Angeles, California, one of the most beautiful cities and states in the country because of weather, attractions, and people. While, yes, the weather and access to the ocean, lakes, and all the myriad of universities, museums, and cultural and sporting events are a dream, the part I love most is the diversity. Living in Los Angeles, gives me the opportunity to expose and share with my son the beauty of America-it’s grand, colorful, beautiful and rich diversity.
Only in America, can a mostly Mexican (with sprinkles of Spanish) woman and a man with an Irish, Italian and British background be brought together by our ancestor’s decision to immigrate to America. The blend of all those flavors, colors, and experiences produced the beautiful and kind mind and soul we are raising. Only in America, can a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, family sit inside a Lebanese restaurant owned by a lovely immigrant family bringing their talents, culture, flavors, and experiences to share with all the other myriad of cultures and people living in our beautiful city of Los Angeles, California in the United States of America.
Embrace diversity. It adds more color and flavor to all our lives… Be like the lotus flower, bloom your beauty no matter how muddy the surroundings get.
