I have a streak of approximately 12,775 days wearing glasses or contacts. I haven’t missed one day since I got my glasses back in third grade.
Not impressed?
How about this…I have carried a cell phone with me for approximately 6,935 days. My first phone cost 1¢ from Radio Shack and my husband and I thought we were the coolest people ever. Little did we know that in a few short years we would be carrying phones that serve as mini-computers.
Okay, true confession here. I have never maintained a running streak, or even a Snapchat streak. I did run yesterday and I am really hoping I run again today. No, I am going to run again today. Probably. Anyway, as I was running yesterday I was thinking about the fact that my longest running streak is about five days. My mind wandered, trying to think of streaks I have been successful at maintaining. I laughed at myself when the best I could come up with was my glasses-wearing streak, but as I huffed and puffed through my first run in a while, I did think of a streak that I am proud of.
I have approached each day with gratitude for 10,220 days in a row. I try to squeeze every ounce of fun and enjoyment out of each day and live it to its fullest, even when it is a house cleaning day or if I have to do unpleasant and difficult things. Even on days that are absolutely NOT fun, I try to be a source of positive energy for the people around me.
My streak of appreciating each day started about mid-ninth grade. I think I was a pretty happy little girl too, but my delight turned into more “emotional train wreck” in my preteen years. I remember my mom commenting on the fact that I was like a different person as I navigated junior high. And, what goes around comes around because I was just thinking the same thing about my seventh-grade son.
I have been through really hard things. Some things I can write about and some things I cannot. But, through it all, I never remember a day that I just “wanted to get through”. That seems like a waste of a day to me, and I don’t even want to waste a single minute of this precious life we are given. Not the day we lost my mom or the day after, not even yesterday when I kicked up so much dust getting out the Christmas decorations that I spent the rest of the day sneezing about 545 times. Every day is a gift and I want each encounter with a person to add value to their life–even if it is just sharing a smile. Appreciating that gift for 10,220 days in a row is a streak I can be proud of. The cell phone streak? Not so much.
I stand in awe of my friends who have running streaks or walking streaks in the thousands, and I aspire to be like them. I might have started my running streak yesterday, who knows? I loved the reflective journey of looking for a streak that is present in my life, one that I am proud of. I encourage you to do the same, what streaks do you have in your life? Inspire us, we are better together.
I like to end my posts with quotes, but when I looked up quotes about streaks, some interesting ones popped up. Here are a few that made me laugh:
The only thing wider than my family’s mean streak is my family’s cheap streak. -Steve Rushin
I’m delighted to be the face of the Garnier No Streak Bronzer Self Tan Range. -Ashley Roberts
When MC Hammer came out, I was wearing parachute pants and patent leather shoes and a high top fade with a blonde streak in it like Kwame. -Tech N9ne
