Doppelgangers and New Questions To Old Answers

Ok, ok, I'm writing.

It's been a relatively long time since I wrote. It's not like I haven't had much to say (Y'all know me!). I've just haven't been able to organize my thoughts well enough to get them on "paper."

The first thing I need to mention is that Yesterday, at my Kings Dominion job, I saw Charlotte's doppelganger. Same hair color, same curls, about the same age, maybe a little taller but not much. If anyone is familiar with her last school picture, the girl at KD looked a lot like CJ in that pic.

I was doing my job, walking around, collecting money, when I saw her with her dad and a couple of siblings (I assume). It really threw me. I was so distracted that I sort of pulled up short and didn't quite know what to do. Do I break down? Does it make me happy or sad? Should I tell someone?

After a moment, I composed myself and kept going but I thought about that little girl, and then of course, Charlotte, for the rest of the evening. Still thinking about them. That had never happened before even when CJ was healthy.

Another weird thing happened when I went to fill out a form for a criminal background check I need to get for Romp n' Roll stuff. When it came to the question that asked, "Do you have any children," I had to pause. How do I answer that one? I guess the answer would be, "no," but we all know otherwise.

These weird events just keep piling up. They're not the type of things that make you fall apart. Just think. The thing that makes you fall apart is when you're flipping channels and the Tinkerbell Movie comes on! Oh, yeah; that'll do it!

The Double Marathon Challenge is going well. I'm training with the help of a running coach (Rachel Pustilnik) and last Saturday we ran 9 miles! It's much easier to go long distances when you have a group and I've been running with Rachel's "Run Like A Mother" group. It's all women but they've allowed me to try to keep up with them. They are a tremendous group and after only a couple of runs with them, I feel much improved by them. Many of them have their own stories of loss and grief so the understanding with which I was received was almost overwhelming.

They are also highly motivated and one doesn't dangle a challenge in front of them unless one is prepared to follow through to the end. I told them that if they raise $1,000.00 or more toward the DMC, I would wear a running skirt during the Patrick Henry Half Marathon on August 28th. They embraced it wholeheartedly and I'm pretty sure I'll be dressed in running drag that day! :-)

As far as the pledge war between UM and VT goes, VT has a sizable lead; however, our friend and sometimes babysitter Jan Light just sent out word to our UM faithful in VA, Chicago, and DC. We've also gotten pledges from UVA fans who say, "anyone but VT" and put pledges on the UM side. If you'd like to establish on which side of the ledger you want your pledge to fall, give us a holler.

Rachel and I are still stressed but dealing. In case you didn't hear, she took a stress level survey that says 200+ points is serious, crisis-type stress. Her score was 700. That would explain a lot.

Well it's getting late and I want to get at least something out there. See you in the morning.