Find the Joy - part one

I'm a dirty girl. 
A second time dirty dasher- kinda dirty girl!
A HOG WILD  kinda dirty girl. 

Tiffany Christensen, Carolina Ferrin, Renae Powell, Heather Call, Lori McClellan, Mandi Holja  aka HOG WILD!

This year I headed up an amazing team at the Dirty Dash, team HOG WILD (Hot Outstanding Girls, With Intent of Leaving Dirty) and June 2, 2012 did not disappoint,.....well, unfortunately there was some disappointments, but there was also a lot of joy.

So we began the race, in our pristine white shirts.  Some of us experienced runners, some of us fake runners (me, I just think I'm an athlete), and some just beginners.  It was a fantastic group of women from all different walks of life, joined together by the desire to get dirty and determined to have a good time doing it. 

And so we began, a little later than planed, but with a big splash in the mud we were off on our dirty adventure.  Up the hill squealing and splatting each other with each filthy foot step we took.  Laughing and loving every minute.  Friendships began to form.  You see, all of the ladies on the team knew me, but most of them had met each other for the first time minutes before we started the race together.  We dashed up the hill, ready for the first obstacle only to be met by a long line.  The disappointment set in.  You don't wait in lines in a race!  As the back up cleared and it was finally our turn to slide down the muck and slosh through the sludge, I pulled my already tender, not-quite-healed hamstring.....again.  I briefly had thoughts that I should quit, but quickly brushed them aside and decided to keep going, a little more cautiously.  As we progressed through the race, we laughed, stayed together (even though some could have been done in a fraction of the time), helped our team mates out, raided the water and cookie truck, made sure that we were all thoroughly covered in mud, got to know one another, had a great time. 

I was unhappy about some of the lines we waited in and the slow pace (of the non-race) at this point.  I was disappointed that I had to skip some of the obstacles due to my injury.  I was disappointed that we had taken so much time waiting in lines, that to get back in time we only did the 3.5 miles and not the 5.5.  This could have been a disappointing day.......but it wasn't.

After I finished with my amazing HOG WILD girls, I quickly went to get my kids and Jay (Shane's uncle) to come with me for a quick piglet plunge jaunt in the mud.  After sitting and watching people jump and romp in the mud for nearly 2 hours, they were chomping at the bit to get dirty.

Jay was a little apprehensive though.  He loves to run, but was worried about falling down in the big mud pit.  I found a smaller mud hole and we started there.

It didn't take long for him to warm up to the idea of getting dirty.  In fact, the pure joy that radiated on his face as we splashed, and played in the mud was absolutely priceless. 

You see, Jay doesn't care if I am big our little.  He doesn't care if I have a double chin or a big butt.  He doesn't care what size I am in, or what the numbers on the scale are.  Jay loves and lives for the moment.  Jay honestly embraces the now.  He loves unconditionally and honestly.  Jay is an angel on earth and has taught me so much, simply by being him. 

At the end of the day, the joy won out over the disappointment.  I could have let a lot of things get me down, but when you see you have so much to be grateful for, it just isn't worth it.

I have a part two coming up, (if I can find the right words to express what and how I want to say it). 

What are your thoughts about finding joy?
Lori