Happy?

I really am! I say it with a question mark because it's been so long since I've been genuinely happy that I sorta forget what it feels like. But today was a really good day.

I spent most of the day on a mountain bike ride with a group that does guided rides for at-risk youth. It was made even better by the fact that that "work" counts for credit for my class. Yay! I think it's a good sign that I'm studying the right thing when the field work for class makes me very, very happy.

The biking program I'm working with partners with various youth organizations to take them out on a ride for today. The group we were with today was very cool. It's a highschool drop out prevention program which pairs kids up with mentors starting in 3rd grade. If all goes as planned, the kids stay with the same mentor(s) all the way through high school, so it's like they form a family together. And they get to do all sorts of cool stuff....mountain biking, camping, kayaking, etc. The kids we were with today are going in to 7th grade. Some of the kids have been in the program since 3rd grade, others joined later (about half came in in 5th grade I think). Anyway, the kids were really great kids, and it was cool to have a small part in helping build this extended family for these kids, so that when things get tough later in life they'll have good people and memories to lean on. I'm not sure exactly how kids are picked for this program, but I know they have had a HUGE success rate in raising the percentage of kids graduating highschool. It was fun to be a part of, and it was just fun to see kids learn to mountain bike for the first time. Some had done some rides before, but the three I was working with mostly were brand new to it. It was fun to be out there with them and see them start to find success.

After the kids went home I went out to do the same trail again. It was great to be biking with the kids, but it gets a bit frustrating sometimes to slow down and go at kid speed when you really want to ride. So I went out and rode hard. That's another thing that really struck me. By the nature of my job I've been very active this summer, but I have done very little working out to the point that there's no room left in my head to think...like my walk the other night. I used to go for runs a lot so I could hit that point. When I'm being active with kids, I obviously don't get to that point. (But I do wonder if that is a draw for some of the kids that come on these bike rides). Anyway, as I was out riding on this beautiful trail, pushing myself to the limit, I realized that I was smiling. I started down a hill and the smile grew. I heard myself thinking, "I think I'm....happy?" Then I actually said out loud to myself "I'm happy!" as I continued to ride with the smile on my face. I stopped for a moment in a nice quiet place on the trail to drink in my moment of happiness.

And I'm thankful to say that the good feelings have continued. And it rained a bit this evening so it's finally not deathly hot and I can feel comfortable and not sweaty. Yay! Now the only problem is that it's only 7:30 and I've run out of things to keep my mind occupied. I wish I could go to bed now (didn't sleep well at all last night so i'm super tired) but it would only end up with me up in the middle of the night.

Anyway...it feels good to report on a happy day. :) Thanks for listening!