I remember at 19

I remember the day after I turned 19 I ran my first marathon. I remember spending the first few miles just being in awe that I was even starting a marathon, that I was there. My dad gave me a running hat for my birthday the day before and we both got to the starting line wearing our running hats, Texas running shorts, and New Balance Shoes. I saw Dad at the out-and-back part of the race and then he came back to cheer me on the last few blocks before I finished. Finishing a marathon was a rush. It was a high.

Two days later we were walking through the mountains near my cousins’ home and I fell off a small cliff. Five years later I had to have a cyst removed from my wrist that was a result of that fall.

At 19 I was also able to know if the mail had come or not every day with one simple test when I was at college. We got mail every day.

My first few years of college my mom sent me mail every single day. Generally a post card, and almost all of them ones she made. If there was a postcard from my mom in the mail box then the mail had come that day. If there wasn’t then the mail had not come. I have several small boxes of the postcards still. I’d start the school year with some photos and small things on my walls in my dorm. And by the end of the year they’d be practically covered with postcards. It was a lot of fun.