Running Free

It's Marathon Sunday here in LA. Looks like the sun wants to come out. Due to the change in course, it will no longer be going by the apartment here. I would normally be waking up with louds screaming today. I kind of miss it. In the past, I would go out and watch the runners go by. I would get teary-eyed at knowing what it felt like to go through the process.

As a kid, I dreamt of being an Olympic runner. Due to 'stuff' happening as a kid, I let go of that dream and life seemed to change in every manner. I started running again at 18 years of age. And though the dream of being an Olympic runner had passed, I started dreaming of just being a runner and running free. I ran my first marathon 12 years ago on the streets of LA. Crossing the finish line, I new I had accomplished something huge. Life changed for me and a year later my Little Girls appeared. Just as I had made a committment to running the marathon a year before, I made a committment to my Little Girls.

There are days when I veer off course and I don't focus my atttention to painting, but I keep coming back to the canvas. I know that it's a part of who I am and will be. I can't imagine myself not doing the work.

The piece to the left is titled Mama and Her Ninos. I picked this piece today because with the exception of my older brother Johnny, all 4 other siblings have run a marathon. He is still a runner at heart and in recent years, he has come to realize the importance of it in his life. If you get a chance, read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Not only did the book inspire me to run again, but I found it very interesting.

Now before I veer off course for the day, I will sit down and paint a little.

Cheers!