What is Worth Celebrating?

I heard something on a podcast a few weeks ago that resonated with me.  The speaker said that if something is worth our time, our effort, and even our stress, when that thing is over, we should honor it with a celebration. He said that if a task or project is worth our devotion, it is important enough to celebrate when it's complete.

Our winter and spring Saturday mornings have been devoted to running.  Brian trained for a 5K and I trained for a half-marathon. For me that meant getting up early and spending up to 2.5 hours running the roads near our house.  It meant on-the-go breakfasts for all of us and a weary mom on Saturday afternoon.  For Brian it meant working a hard physical job five days a week and then running hard on the weekend.

Two weeks ago, we all got up early and cheered Brian through his 5K.  He met his time goal by a few seconds and came away determined to do even better next time (though he says next time will be after the busy season at work!). 

That's Brian, running by in a blur

Last weekend, it was my turn.  We had a 4 am wake-up call to drive to the race so the kids sat this one out. I beat last year's time by 1 minute but I improved on so many more things.  (I plan to share a full race report soon.)

That's me, number 1879

Today marked our first Saturday since early January not centered around running.  No one had to get up early.  No one had to grab a banana on the way out the door.  And no one had a 12-mile training run looming.

We chose to celebrate by cooking a pancake breakfast and lingering long at our dining room table. 

We chose to spend many hours running throughout the spring.  We chose to make these races our goals and give up extra rest and comfort on Saturday mornings. We do not regret the effort. 

 

But...the ending was momentous, too. 

After devoting these many hours into our endeavors, it was important to us to mark their completion with a celebration.

What have you finished lately (big or small) that is worth celebrating?